UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team returns to the Bryce Jordan Center Sunday to host Minnesota in Penn State’s Coaches vs. Cancer and Alumni Day game. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. and the game will air on Peacock.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TICKETS: Tickets
- PROMOTIONS: Coaches vs. Cancer & Alumni Day
- $5 from every ticket purchased from this link gets donated to the Penn State chapter of Coaches vs. Cancer.
- TV: NBCSN & Peacock – Mike Corey (pxp) & Nik Stauskas (analyst)
- RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
- NATIONAL RADIO: SiriusXM Ch. 85 & SXM App Ch. 85
- LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
- GAME NOTES: Penn State Notes
OPENING TIPS
- The Nittany Lions return home following a two-game road swing to host Minnesota in Penn State's Coaches vs. Cancer and Alumni Day game.
- Penn State is still seeking its first Big Ten win of the season, but has faced seven of the conference's top eight teams in the league standings through the Nittany Lions' first 10 B1G games.
- Penn State's strong guard duo of Kayden Mingo (14.1 ppg) and Freddie Dilione V (13.4 ppg) are both averaging double-digit points.
IF PENN STATE BEATS MINNESOTA
- Penn State would pick up its first Big Ten win of the season.
- The Nittany Lions would snap their eight-game losing streak.
- Penn State would earn its second-straight win against Minnesota.
SCOUTING THE GOPHERS
- The Gophers are 10-11 on the season and 3-7 in Big Ten play in their first season under head coach Niko Medved.
- Minnesota has lost its last six games after starting 3-1 in conference play.
- The Gophers' three conference wins have come over Indiana (73-64), Northwestern (84-78) and Iowa (70-67).
- Minnesota is coming off a 63-67 road loss at Wisconsin Wednesday night in their most recent game.
- Cade Tyson leads the Gophers with 20.1 points per game. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson follows with 13.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest. Langston Reynolds (10.7 ppg) and Isaac Asuma (10.3 ppg) are also averaging double-digit points.
AGAINST MINNESOTA
- Penn State and Minnesota meet for the only time during the regular season Sunday afternoon in Happy Valley.
- Penn State is 14-13 all-time when playing the Gophers in Happy Valley.
- The two teams split last season's series, with the road team winning each matchup. Minnesota earned a 69-61 win inside the Bryce Jordan Center on Feb. 4, 2025 before the Nittany Lions took down the Gophers on the road, 69-60, on Feb. 22, 2025.
COACHES VS. CANCER
- Penn State will host its annual Coaches vs. Cancer game Sunday, with $5 from every ticket purchased at this link donated to the Penn State chapter of Coaches vs. Cancer.
- The Penn State chapter of Coaches vs. Cancer has raised over $4.7 million since its mission first began in 1995, including over $450,000 in 2025.
- Coaches vs. Cancer of Penn State has allocated over $797,000 in grants to the Bob Perks Cancer Assistance Fund – ensuring financial support and resources in the fight against cancer right here in Central PA.
- The American Cancer Society has granted over $22.2 million to Penn State, funding research grants at Penn State University and the College of Medicine. The very first being in 1963.
- The American Cancer Society supports cancer patients and their families across their cancer journey through lodging and transportation services, prevention programs, 24/7 information and support, and groundbreaking research funding.
ALUMNI DAY
- The Nittany Lions will welcome home a number of program alumni Sunday in celebration of Alumni Day in Happy Valley.
- Penn State will also honor the 25-year anniversary of the 2001 Nittany Lion team that advanced to the Sweet 16 and the 15-year anniversary of the 2011 NCAA Tournament team. Current Penn State assistant coaches Joe Crispin (2001) and Talor Battle (2011) were both captains of those respective Nittany Lion teams.
RIGHT INTO THE FIRE
- The Nittany Lions, the youngest team in the Big Ten, have faced the conference's fire power right away in the early part of the B1G season. Seven of Penn State's 10 conference games thus far have been against the top eight teams in the conference standings through games on Jan. 29.
- Penn State's first 10 Big Ten opponents (Indiana, Michigan State, Illinois, Michigan, UCLA, Maryland, Wisconsin, Ohio State & Northwestern) are a combined 62-37 (.626) thus far in conference play, while Penn State's remaining seven opponents are a combined 27-42 (.391) so far in Big Ten action (through games on Jan. 29).
- Four of Penn State's first five Big Ten games were against top-20 ranked opponents, with three being against top-10 teams, all of which were decided by single-digit margins and an average of 5.5 points.
ONE OF ONE
- Rookie guard Kayden Mingo is the ONLY freshman in the country averaging 14+ points (14.1 ppg), 4+ assists (4.7 apg), 3.5+ rebounds (3.5 rpg) and 2+ steals (2.1 spg) per game through games on Jan. 29.
MINGO MAKING HIS MARK
- Rookie Kayden Mingo is the third-highest scoring freshman in the Big Ten. He leads the Nittany Lions in points (14.1 ppg), assists (4.7 apg) and steals (2.1 spg), while ranking third on the team in rebounds (3.5 rpg).
- He has scored in double figures in 14 of 18 games, including two 20-plus point efforts. Mingo leads the Big Ten and ranks 37th nationally with 2.06 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.
JUMP FOR JOSH
- Senior Josh Reed was relied upon as a key defensive player in his three seasons at Cincinnati, averaging just 2.8 points per game through 97 career games with the Bearcats, but has made a big offensive jump since transferring to Penn State for the 2025-26 season.
- Reed is averaging 9.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game through 21 games this season. He has scored in double figures in 11 games this season after coming to Penn State with just seven career double-digit scoring games through his three seasons at Cincinnati.
|
Josh Reed Stat |
Career Pre-PSU |
2025-26 at PSU |
Improvement |
|
Points per game |
2.8 |
9.7 |
+6.9 ppg |
|
Rebounds per game |
2.1 |
3.9 |
+1.8 rpg |
|
Steals per game |
0.4 |
1.1 |
+0.7 spg |
|
FG% |
38.7% |
50.0% |
+11.3% |
SHOTS UP
- Redshirt sophomore Eli Rice leads the Nittany Lions with a 46.4 3FG% (39-84). The Gallatin, Tenn. native has turned it up a notch since the return from the holiday break:
|
Eli Rice Stat |
Last 9 Games |
First 12 Games |
|
Points per game |
11.8 |
5.7 |
|
Rebounds per game |
1.7 |
1.3 |
|
FG% |
47.2% |
40.4% |
|
3FG made per game |
2.67 |
1.25 |
|
Minutes per game |
24.9 |
16.8 |
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 this season.
- He has scored in double figures in 15 games this season, including a career-best 25-point performance at #5 Purdue on Jan. 10.
|
Freddie Dilione V Stat |
2024-25 |
2025-26 |
Improvement |
|
Points per game |
9.4 |
13.4 |
+4.0 ppg |
|
Rebounds per game |
2.8 |
3.3 |
+0.5 rpg |
|
Assists per game |
1.7 |
2.5 |
+0.8 apg |
|
FG% |
41.6% |
46.3% |
+4.7 FG% |
|
3FG% |
28.9% |
31.5% |
+2.6 3FG% |
|
FT% |
70.9% |
83.7% |
+12.8 FT% |
STRONG START FOR THE BIG FELLA
- Freshman Ivan Jurić leads the team with a 54.8 (68-124) field goal percentage while averaging 9.4 points and a team-best 5.1 rebounds per game.
- Jurić owns nine double-digit scoring efforts and put together a career-best 20-point performance against #2 Michigan on Jan. 6. He tallied his first-career double-double with 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds at Ohio State on Jan. 26.
UP NEXT
Penn State is back on the road for a Thursday night matchup at #3 Michigan. Tipoff from Ann Arbor is slated for 6:30 p.m. on FS1.