UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team returns to the Bryce Jordan Center Tuesday night to take on Minnesota at 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TICKETS: Tickets
- PROMOTIONS: Academic Achievement Night & Faculty Appreciation Night
- TV: Big Ten Network – Jason Horowitz (pxp) & Austin Johnson (analyst)
- RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
- NATIONAL RADIO: Sirius XM Ch. 372 & SXM App. Ch. 372
- LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
- GAME NOTES: Penn State | Minnesota
OPENING TIPS
- The Nittany Lions are back in the Bryce Jordan Center Tuesday night to host Minnesota in the first of two meetings with the Gophers in the next 20 days.
- The Nittany Lions rank top 30 in the nation in points per game (82.3), field goal percentage (48.7%) and turnovers forced per game (15.23).
- Five Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by Ace Baldwin Jr.'s 14.1 ppg.
IF PENN STATE BEATS MINNESOTA
- The Nittany Lions would improve to 11-1 when playing inside the Bryce Jordan Center this season.
- Penn State would snap its three-game losing streak.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA
- The Gophers are 11-11 on the season and 3-8 in Big Ten play.
- Minnesota is 1-4 in road games this season, with its one road win coming at Iowa on Jan. 21, a 72-67 victory for the Gophers.
- The Gophers started Big Ten play 0-6 before embarking on a three-game win streak from Jan. 16-25 with wins over Michigan (84-81, OT), Iowa (72-67) and Oregon (77-69). Minnesota has since lost its last two games at Michigan State (73-51) and at home against Washington (71-68) Saturday.
- Dawson Garcia leads the Gophers with 20.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 51.2 percent from the field. Mike Mitchell Jr. (10.8 ppg) and Lu'cye Patterson (10.5) are also averaging double-digit points.
AGAINST THE GOPHERS
- Penn State and Minnesota meet for the first of two times in 20 days Tuesday night in Happy Valley.
- Fourteen of Penn State's 19 all-time wins against the Gophers have come in Happy Valley.
- Minnesota swept last season's series, earning a 75-70 win in Minneapolis on March 2 and an 83-74 victory in State College on Jan. 27. Penn State had won the previous three meetings between the two teams.
HOME SWEET HAPPY VALLEY
- Penn State is 10-1 inside the Bryce Jordan Center this season and has won 12 of its last 14 home games in Happy Valley dating back to last season.
|
Stat |
PSU avg. in BJC games this season |
|
Points per game |
91.2 |
|
FG% |
51.3% |
|
3FG% |
37.7% |
|
3FG made per game |
8.6 |
|
Assists per game |
19.1 |
|
Turnovers forced per game |
12.0 |
|
Steals per game |
10.5 |
- The Nittany Lions earned their 300th win inside the Bryce Jordan Center in Penn State's most recent game in the building on Jan. 20 when Penn State took down Rutgers, 80-72.
FRONT LOADED
- Penn State's Big Ten schedule has been frontloaded with teams that have emerged at the top of the league standings through the first half of the conference slate.
- The 10 teams that Penn State has already played in Big Ten action are a combined 59-48 (.551) in conference play, while the seven teams Penn State has left to face in the remainder of its conference slate are a combined 34-40 (.459) in Big Ten play.
REWRITING HISTORY
- The Nittany Lions have accomplished the following Penn State milestones through the first 22 games of the season:
- Finished non-conference play at 10-1, marking just the sixth time since Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1992-93 that the Nittany Lions have finished regular-season non-conference action with one or fewer losses.
- Big Ten-opening win over #8 Purdue was Penn State's first win over a team ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll since Dec. 2019.
- Started the season 6-0 for the first time in 25 years (since the 1999-2000 season). Started the season 8-1 for the first time in 10 years (since the 2014-15 season).
- Scored 100+ points in back-to-back games for the first time in program history (108 vs. Binghamton, 103 vs. UMBC).
- Scored 80+ points in six-consecutive games for the first time in program history.
- Scored 100+ in three games in the same season for just the second time in program history.
NATIONAL NUMBERS
- The Nittany Lions currently rank in the top 30 in the country in a number of statistical categories through games on Feb. 1:
|
Team Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
|
Field goal percentage |
48.7% |
24 |
|
Points per game |
82.3 |
26 |
|
FT made per game |
17.2 |
26 |
|
Turnovers forced per game |
15.23 |
27 |
|
Individual Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
|
Assists per game – Ace Baldwin Jr. |
7.8 |
4 |
|
FT% - Ace Baldwin Jr. |
93.3% |
5 |
|
Blocks – Yanic Konan Niederhauser |
46 |
18 |
|
FT made – Ace Baldwin Jr. |
112 |
24 |
HIGH OCTANE
- Penn State is averaging 82.3 points per game, a mark that ranks 26th in the country.
- The Nittany Lions have scored 80-plus points in 14 of their 22 games this season.
- Penn State's 82.3 points per game currently tracks to best the program record for single-season scoring average of 78.7 ppg that was set by the 1994-95 team.
BALANCED ATTACK
- Five different Penn State players are averaging double-digit points: Ace Baldwin Jr. (14.1 ppg), Nick Kern Jr. (12.9), Yanic Konan Niederhauser (12.7), Zach Hicks (11.8), and Puff Johnson (10.2).
- Nine players have scored in double figures, with six different players recording 20-plus point games, in the Nittany Lions' balanced offensive attack. Six different players have led Penn State in scoring in a game this season.
TURNING DEFENSE INTO OFFENSE
- Penn State ranks 27th in Division I in turnovers forced per game (15.23) and leads the Big Ten with 8.7 steals per game.
- The Nittany Lions have owned a 409-275 advantage in points scored off turnovers through the first 22 games of the season.
CLOSE LOSSES
- Penn State has been within four points in the final two minutes of seven of its nine losses this season.
ONE OF ONE
- Graduate student Ace Baldwin Jr. is the ONLY active Division I player and one of just nine Division I players since the 1947-48 season (77 years) with 1,500+ career points (1,593), 700+ career assists (782) and 300+ career steals (313).
- Baldwin Jr. is Division I's active career leader in steals (313) and his 782 career assists are second amongst active Division I players.
GOT AN ACE UP OUR SLEEVE
- Ace Baldwin Jr. currently ranks fourth in the country with his 7.8 assists per game and fifth in free throw percentage (93.3%). He's notched five points-assists double-doubles and has tallied double-digit assists in more games (6) than he did all of last season (4), including a single-game school record 16 helpers on Dec. 14 vs. Coppin State.
- The reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Baldwin Jr. earned a spot on the Naismith Trophy Men's College Player of the Year Watch List this preseason, in addition landing on the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Top 20 Preseason Watch List and being named a Preseason All-Big Ten selection.
CONSISTENCY FOR KERN
- Senior Nick Kern Jr. has scored in double figures in 17 of the last 18 games, including two 20-plus point efforts. He leads the Nittany Lions with 18 double-digit scoring efforts this season and is currently Penn State's leading scorer in Big Ten play, averaging 13.8 points per conference game.
- He has shot 61.0 percent (108-177) from the field this season while averaging 12.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
BIG FELLA BURSTING ONTO THE SCENE
- Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Penn State's mobile and versatile seven-foot forward, is averaging 12.7 points per game, a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game and a Big Ten-best 2.1 blocks per game. The Switzerland native transferred to Penn State ahead of the 2024-25 season following two years at Northern Illinois.
|
PSU (2024-25) |
NIU (2022-24) |
|
|
Points per game |
12.7 ppg |
5.1 ppg |
|
FG% |
62.2% |
51.4% |
|
Rebounds per game |
6.2 rpg |
3.2 rpg |
ZACH ATTACK
- Senior Zach Hicks leads Penn State in 3-point shooting percentage (42.0%) and his 2.50 triples per game ranks third in the conference.
- Hicks is averaging 12.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game in conference play.
READY FREDDIE
- Freddie Dilione V has turned it up a notch since the first month of the season:
|
Dilione V |
Nov. |
Dec.-Jan. |
|
PPG |
8.1 |
10.3 |
|
FG% |
39.2% |
45.6% |
|
3FG% |
15.8% |
37.7% |
|
Assists/game |
1.0 |
2.2 |
FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT
- Head Coach Mike Rhoades has inked the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history and the 21st-ranked class in the country as three highly-touted prospects signed to join the Nittany Lions during the November early signing period.
- Penn State's three-member class ranks 21st in the nation per 247 Sports. The three-member class is comprised of Mason Blackwood (Rochester, N.Y.), Justin Houser (Camp Hill, Pa.) and Kayden Mingo (Farmingdale, N.Y.). The three new Nittany Lions join the program as the Class of 2029 and bring accomplished athletic and academic pedigrees to Penn State.
The 2024-25 Penn State men’s basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.