UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team returns home to host Rutgers Wednesday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TICKETS: Tickets
- PROMOTIONS: Academic Achievement Night & Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night
- TV: Big Ten Network – Jason Horowitz (pxp) & Jordan Taylor (analyst)
- RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
- NATIONAL RADIO: SiriusXM Ch. 210 & SXM App Ch. 959
- LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
- GAME NOTES: Penn State Notes | Rutgers Notes
OPENING TIPS
- The Nittany Lions return home from a stretch of playing five of the last seven games on the road to host Rutgers Wednesday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
- Penn State has earned two conference wins this year over Minnesota (77-75 - Feb. 1) and at Washington (63-60 - Feb. 11).
- Penn State's trio of Freddie Dilione V (14.4 ppg), Kayden Mingo (13.9 ppg) and Josh Reed (10.8 ppg) are all averaging double-digit points.
IF PENN STATE BEATS RUTGERS
- Penn State would earn its third Big Ten win of the season.
- The Nittany Lions would win their ninth home game of the year.
- Penn State would earn its third win in the last six games.
SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
- The Scarlet Knights are 10-15 overall and 3-11 in Big Ten play.
- Rutgers has lost seven of its last eight games, but is coming off a 68-57 home win over Maryland in its most recent game Sunday.
- The Scarlet Knights are 0-7 in true road games this season, including an 0-6 mark in Big Ten road contests.
- Rutgers three Big Ten wins this season have come against Maryland (68-57), Northwestern (77-75 - OT) and Oregon (88-85 - OT).
- Tariq Francis leads Rutgers with 16.6 points per game, while Dylan Grant follows with 10.6 points per contest.
AGAINST RUTGERS
- Penn State and Rutgers meet for the first of two times this season Wednesday night in Happy Valley.
- The Nittany Lions own a 30-11 advantage when playing Rutgers in Happy Valley.
- The two teams split last year's regular-season series, with the home team winning each game. Rutgers earned an 80-76 victory on Dec. 10, 2024 in Piscataway, N.J., while the Nittany Lions claimed an 80-72 decision on Jan. 20, 2025 inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
B1G DUBS
- Penn State earned its first Big Ten win of the season on Feb. 1 as rookie guard Kayden Mingo scored on a game-winning left-handed scoop shot with one second left to play to lift the Nittany Lions to a gutsy 77-75 win over Minnesota inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions grabbed their first road win of the conference season on Feb. 11 at Washington as the Nittany Lions limited the Huskies to a 37.7 FG% in PSU's strong defensive effort.
- Penn State has shot 49.1 percent from the field in its two Big Ten wins while limiting its opponents to a 44.6 percent clip. Freddie Dilione V has led Penn State in its pair of conference victories with 20.5 points per game, while Josh Reed (16.0 ppg) and Kayden Mingo (13.5) have followed.
HOME SWEET HAPPY VALLEY
- Penn State has played five of its last seven games on the road and returns home to the Bryce Jordan Center Wednesday night where the Nittany Lions are 8-4 this season.
- Penn State has averaged 79.9 points per game inside the BJC this season, while holding its opponents to 73.4 points per contest. The Nittany Lions also own a +5.0 turnover margin in home games inside the Bryce Jordan Center this year.
RISING STAR
- Penn State was represented during the NBA's All-Star Weekend as former Nittany Lion Yanic Konan Niederhauser tallied 11 points, two rebounds and a block in the NBA Rising Stars game Friday night.
- Konan Niederhauser has put together a strong rookie season with the Los Angeles Clippers after becoming Penn State's first-ever first round NBA Draft pick during the 2025 NBA Draft when he was selected by the Clippers with the 30th overall pick. Konan Niederhauser has seen action in 34 games this season for the Clippers.
STASHING STEALS
- The Nittany Lions lead the Big Ten with 7.3 steals per game. Penn State has led the conference in steals per game in each of Mike Rhoades' two full seasons at the helm.
- Individually, Kayden Mingo leads the conference and ranks 25th nationally with 2.22 steals per game.
ONE OF ONE
- Rookie guard Kayden Mingo is the ONLY freshman in the country averaging 13+ points (13.9 ppg), 4+ assists (4.2 apg), 3+ rebounds (3.4 rpg) and 2+ steals (2.22 spg) per game through games on Feb. 15.
MINGO MAKING HIS MARK
- Rookie Kayden Mingo is the third-highest scoring freshman in the Big Ten. He leads the Nittany Lions in assists (4.2 apg) and steals (2.22 spg), while ranking second in points (13.9 ppg) and third on the team in rebounds (3.5 rpg).
- He has scored in double figures in 17 of 23 games, including three 20-plus point efforts. Mingo leads the Big Ten and ranks 25th nationally with 2.22 steals per game and he collected a single-game program record-tying eight steals against Sacred Heart on Nov. 29.
- Mingo scored the game-winning shot with a second to play in Penn State's first Big Ten win of the season against Minnesota on Feb. 1. He is coming off a career high-tying 24-point performance at Oregon Saturday.
- 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 an improved and consistent presence for the Nittany Lions this season. He has scored in double figures in 20 games this season, including career-best 25-point performances at #5 Purdue (Jan. 10) and against Minnesota (Feb. 1).
|
Freddie Dilione V Stat |
2024-25 |
2025-26 |
Improvement |
|
Points per game |
9.4 |
14.4 |
+5.0 ppg |
|
Rebounds per game |
2.8 |
3.4 |
+0.6 rpg |
|
Assists per game |
1.7 |
2.4 |
+0.7 apg |
|
FG% |
41.6% |
47.1% |
+5.5 FG% |
|
FT% |
70.9% |
83.6% |
+12.7 FT% |
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 massive offensive jump since transferring to Penn State for the 2025-26 season.
- Reed is averaging 10.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game through 26 games this season. He has scored in double figures in 16 games this season, including each of the last 10 contests, 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 |
10.8 |
+8.0 ppg |
|
Rebounds per game |
2.1 |
4.0 |
+1.9 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 44.1 3FG% (41-93). The Gallatin, Tenn. native has turned it up a notch in the second half of the season:
|
Eli Rice Stat |
Last 12 Games Played |
First 12 Games Played |
|
Points per game |
10.4 |
5.7 |
|
Rebounds per game |
1.9 |
1.3 |
|
FG% |
45.3% |
40.4% |
|
3FG made per game |
2.2 |
1.25 |
|
Minutes per game |
24.4 |
16.8 |
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions are back on the road to take on #9 Nebraska Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.