UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team returns to the friendly confines of the Bryce Jordan Center Tuesday night to host Boston University. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will air nationally on Peacock.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TICKETS: Tickets
- PROMOTIONS: Kids 12 & under get in free with the purchase of an adult ticket from this link.
- FAN INFO GUIDE: Fan Info Guide
- TV: Peacock – Jason Knapp (pxp) & Nik Stauskas (analyst)
- RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
- NATIONAL RADIO: Sirius XM Ch. 85 & SXM App Ch. 85
- LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
- GAME NOTES: Penn State Game Notes
OPENING TIPS
- The Nittany Lions return home to Happy Valley to kick off a three-game homestand against Boston University Tuesday night.
- Penn State is off to a 5-1 start to the season and the Nittany Lions are coming off their first loss of the season to Providence Saturday afternoon.
- Freshman Kayden Mingo leads the team in points (14.5 ppg), rebounds (4.3 rpg) and assists (4.2 apg). Freddie Dilione V (14.0 ppg) and Melih Tunca (13.8 ppg) follow.
IF PENN STATE BEATS BOSTON UNIVERSITY
- The Nittany Lions would start the season 6-1 for the second-straight year.
- Penn State would win its 13th-straight non-conference home game played inside the Bryce Jordan Center and move to 17-1 in non-conference home games under third-year head coach Mike Rhoades.
SCOUTING THE TERRIERS
- The Terriers are 3-3 on the young season and coming off a thrilling 75-74 win over Harvard Saturday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena. Freshman Chance Gladden drove to the hoop for the game-winning bucket with four seconds remaining to help the Terriers claim their second one-point win of the season.
- BU also owns victories at Northeastern (76-75 OT) and against Brown (90-77) this season, while the Terriers' three losses have come against Northwestern (52-76), Merrimack (79-91) and Columbia (49-54).
- Ben Defty leads the Terriers with 13.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
- Three other BU players are averaging double-digit points in Michael McNair (13.0 ppg), Chance Gladden (12.3 ppg) and Sam Hughes (11.0 ppg).
AGAINST BOSTON UNIVERSITY
- Penn State and Boston University meet for the fourth time in program history Tuesday and for the first time since 1984.
- The two teams played a home-and-home series in 1983 and 1984, with BU winning both contests.
- Penn State won the first-ever meeting between the two squads, 84-67, in 1956.
5-1
- Penn State is off to a 5-1 start to the season. The Nittany Lions began the year 5-0 before dropping their first game of the season Saturday afternoon against Providence, 65-77. Saturday's game was a one-point contest with under four minutes to play, but the Friars pulled away down the stretch.
- Penn State is averaging 79.2 points per game while shooting 49.0 percent from the field and 36.0 percent from 3-point range.
HOME SWEET HAPPY VALLEY
- Penn State has won 12-straight non-conference homes games played inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions are 16-1 in non-conference home games under the direction of third-year head coach Mike Rhoades.
DISCIPLINED
- Penn State's young squad has shown tremendous discipline as the Nittany Lions rank top 10 in the country in fewest turnovers per game (7.8 - 6th) and fewest fouls per game (13.2 - 7th) through games on Nov. 22.
DEPTH ON DISPLAY
- The Nittany Lions have showcased their depth through the first six games of the season, as Penn State's 35.5 bench points per game ranks second in the Big Ten and is a top-50 mark in the nation.
- The Penn State bench has outscored the opponent bench by an eye-popping total of 213-69 through six games this season.
DYNAMIC ROOKIE DUO
- Penn State is one of just three schools in Division I to have two freshmen both averaging 13 or more points per game through games on Nov. 22.
- Penn State: Kayden Mingo (14.5 ppg) & Melih Tunca (13.8 ppg)
- Illinois: Keaton Wagler (16.2 ppg) & David Mirkovic (16.0 ppg)
- Arkansas: Maleek Thomas (18.3 ppg) & Darius Acuff Jr. (16.8 ppg)
NATIONAL NUMBERS
- The Nittany Lions currently rank in the top 30 in the country in a number of statistical categories (rankings listed thru games on Nov. 22):
|
Team Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
|
Fewest turnovers/game |
7.8 |
6 |
|
Fewest fouls/game |
13.2 |
7 |
|
Assist-to-turnover ratio |
1.85 |
26 |
LOOK OUT FOR THE ROOKS
- Penn State's freshmen class has combined for the following through the first six games of the year:
|
Stat |
Freshmen (Total) |
Freshmen % |
|
Points |
248 (475) |
52.2% |
|
Rebounds |
94 (201) |
46.8% |
|
Assists |
58 (87) |
66.7% |
|
Steals |
17 (42) |
40.5% |
|
Minutes |
624.84 (1200) |
52.1% |
- The Nittany Lion rookies have combined to shoot 54.1 percent (98-181) from the field through the first six games of the season.
BURSTING ONTO THE SCENE
- Rookie Kayden Mingo is the third highest-scoring freshman in the Big Ten and he leads the Nittany Lions in points (14.5 ppg), rebounds (4.3 rpg) and assists (4.2 apg) through the first six games of the season. He put together a career-best 24-point performance in Penn State's win over Harvard on Nov. 19.
- Mingo, the highest-ranked recruit in program history, was named an ESPN Top 50 Impact Newcomer in late October. He was ranked as the No. 34 recruit nationally per 247Sports & No. 39 recruit nationally per ESPN out of high school. He was named the 2025 New York Gatorade Player of the Year following standout senior season at Long Island Lutheran.
STEADY FREDDIE
- Redshirt junior Freddie Dilione V, Penn State's only returning starter from a season ago, has been a consistent presence for the Nittany Lions thus far this season.
- Dilione is averaging 14.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game with just four total turnovers in 162 minutes of playing time.
- He has scored in double figures in each of the last five games, including a career-best 22 points and nine rebounds in Penn State's most recent game against Providence Saturday.
OH MY MELIH
- Istanbul, Turkey native Melih Tunca has been on fire to start the season, scoring in double figures in all six of Penn State's game while shooting 57.7 percent (30-52) from the field and 46.7 percent (7-15) from 3-point range.
- Tunca ranks third on the squad in points (13.8 ppg) and second in both assists (3.7 apg) and steals (1.3 spg).
UP NEXT
- Penn State remains home to host Sacred Heart Saturday at 6 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will air nationally on Peacock.