UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team puts a bow on non-conference play and the 2025 calendar year Monday afternoon when the Nittany Lions host North Carolina Central. Tipoff from the Bryce Jordan Center is slated for 1 p.m. and the game will air nationally on Big Ten Network.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TICKETS: Tickets
- PROMOTIONS: Kids 12 & under get in free with the purchase of an adult ticket
- TV: Big Ten Network – Ryan Burr (pxp) & Myles Dread (analyst)
- RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
- NATIONAL RADIO: SiriusXM Ch. 372 & SXM App Ch. 372
- LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
- GAME NOTES: Penn State Notes | N.C. Central Notes
OPENING TIPS
- The Nittany Lions wrap up non-conference play Monday afternoon when Penn State hosts North Carolina Central in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
- The Nittany Lions are 8-4 on the season and 8-2 in non-conference games.
- Penn State has won 15-straight non-conference home games played inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
- Three Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by Freddie Dilione V's 14.9 points per game. Kayden Mingo (14.5 ppg) and Melih Tunca (11.1 ppg) follow.
IF PENN STATE BEATS N.C. CENTRAL
- Penn State would win its 16th-straight non-conference home game played inside the Bryce Jordan Center and move to 20-1 in non-conference home games under third-year head coach Mike Rhoades.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
- The Eagles are 4-10 on the season with their four wins coming over Bluefield State (77-61), Toccoa Falls (123-67), CarolinaU (109-61) and Mid-Atlantic Christian (96-62).
- C. Central dropped a 72-74 home decision to Longwood in their most recent game on Dec. 20.
- The Eagles are 0-8 in road games this season.
AGAINST N.C. CENTRAL
- Penn State and North Carolina Central will meet for the first time in program history Monday afternoon inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
NON-CONFERENCE FINALE
- Monday’s game against N.C. Central serves as Penn State's non-conference finale.
- The Nittany Lions look to wrap up the regular-season non-conference slate at 9-2. Penn State's only two losses of non-league action came against Providence and Pittsburgh.
HOME SWEET HAPPY VALLEY
- Penn State has won 15-straight non-conference homes games played inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
- The Nittany Lions are 19-1 in non-conference home games under the direction of third-year head coach Mike Rhoades.
NATIONAL NUMBERS
- The Nittany Lions currently rank in the top 20 in the country in a number of statistical categories (rankings listed thru games on Dec. 26):
|
Team Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
|
Fewest turnovers per game |
9.1 |
5 |
|
Fewest fouls per game |
14.3 |
18 |
|
Turnover margin |
4.5 |
19 |
DISCIPLINED
- Penn State's young squad has shown tremendous discipline as the Nittany Lions rank fifth in the country in fewest turnovers per game (9.1). The Nittany Lions committed just three turnovers on Nov. 25 vs. Boston University, the fewest turnovers Penn State has surrendered in a game since Dec. 22, 2022.
- Penn State's young team also ranks 18th in the country in fewest fouls per game (14.3).
STEADY FREDDIE
- Redshirt junior Freddie Dilione V, Penn State's only returning starter from a season ago, has been an improved and consistent presence for the Nittany Lions thus far this season. Dilione is averaging a team-leading 14.9 points per game to go along with his 3.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
- He has scored in double figures in 10 games this season, including career-best 23-point performances in Penn State's two most recent games against #9 Michigan State and Pittsburgh.
|
Dilione V Stat |
2024-25 |
2025-26 |
Improvement |
|
Points per game |
9.4 |
14.9 |
+5.5 ppg |
|
Rebounds per game |
2.8 |
3.6 |
+0.8 rpg |
|
Assists per game |
1.7 |
2.2 |
+0.5 apg |
|
Turnovers per game |
1.5 |
1.1 |
-0.4 tpg |
|
FG% |
41.6% |
51.5% |
+9.9 FG% |
|
3FG% |
28.9% |
37.8% |
+8.9 3FG% |
|
FT% |
70.9% |
86.7% |
+15.8 FT% |
ONE OF ONE
- Freshman guard Kayden Mingo is the ONLY freshman in the country averaging 14+ points (14.5 ppg), 4+ assists (4.4 apg), 4.0+ rebounds (4.2 rpg) and 2+ steals (2.1 spg) per game through games on Dec. 26.
MINGO MAKING HIS MARK
- Rookie Kayden Mingo is the third-highest scoring freshman in the Big Ten and he ranks second for the Nittany Lions with 14.5 points per game. He leads the team in rebounds (4.2 rpg), assists (4.4 apg) and steals (2.1 spg) through the first 12 games of the season.
- He has scored in double figures in 10 of 12 games, including two 20-plus point efforts. Mingo leads the Big Ten with 2.1 steals per game and he collected a single-game program record-tying eight steals against Sacred Heart on Nov. 29.
- 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.
NEW-LOOK NITTANY LIONS
- The Nittany Lion roster is the 10th-most inexperienced roster in Division I per Bart Torvik's experience metric. The Penn State roster features one senior, two juniors, two sophomores and eight freshmen.
- The new-look Nittany Lions feature 10 new players this season. Penn State returns just 14.6 percent of points, 11.0 percent of rebounds, 12.5 percent of assists and 15.5 percent of minutes played from last season in its three returners - Freddie Dilione V, Eli Rice and Dominick Stewart.
UP NEXT
- Penn State returns to the City of Brotherly Love Saturday night when the Nittany Lions host #20 Illinois inside of the historic Palestra. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and tickets are available for purchase here. The game is presented by the Pennsylvania Auto Theft Prevention Authority.