UNIVERSITY PARK – The Penn State men’s basketball team officially begins the 2023-24 campaign Monday night when the Nittany Lions host Delaware State at 7 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The 2023-24 Penn State men’s basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.
FOLLOW ALONG
TICKETS: Tickets
VIDEO: B1G+ – Brian Tripp (pxp) & Myles Dread (analyst)
RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
NATIONAL RADIO: SiriusXM App. Ch. 978
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
PARKING: Parking for all athletic events requires a valid university permit or payment of an applicable parking fee. Parking can be purchased in advance by 11:59 p.m. the day prior to each game using Prepaid ParkMobile for $5.50, or can be purchased on game day for $10. Parking for men’s basketball can be found at Jordan East, Stadium West, or Porter North lots.
MOBILE TICKETING: All Penn State Athletics tickets are once again mobile tickets. Fans can access Penn State Athletics mobile ticket guide at GoPSUsports.com/mobiletickets. Make sure to have the updated Penn State Athletics App downloaded on your phone to easily access and manage your mobile tickets. Download the app on the App Store and Google Play.
CLEAR BAG POLICY: The Bryce Jordan Center has a clear bag policy. Bags that are clear plastic, vinyl or PVB and are 12” x 6″ x 12” or smaller are permitted. Small clutches or wristlets that are 4″ x 6” x 1″ are also permissible, as well as one-gallon clear plastic freezer bags. All clear bags and patrons are subject to metal detection and/or bag inspection upon entering the venue. Bag policy details can be found here.
OPENING TIPS
The 2023-24 Penn State men’s basketball season officially begins Monday night when the Nittany Lions kick off a four-game, season-opening homestand against Delaware State inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Nittany Lions enter their first season under Peter and Ann Tombros Endowed Head Coach Mike Rhoades in 2023-24. Rhoades came to Penn State following a six-year stint as the head coach at VCU in which he guided the Rams to three NCAA Tournament appearances, a 129-60 overall record and a 72-32 Atlantic 10 Conference record.
In 19 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Rhoades, a Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania native, has produced a 373-189 record, a winning percentage of .664, seven NCAA Tournament appearances and nine national postseason appearances.
The Nittany Lions took down Robert Morris 68-58 on the road on Oct. 27 in a preseason charity exhibition game benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.
Rhoades and his staff retooled the Penn State roster upon arrival in Happy Valley, adding 10 new players – nine via the transfer portal and one incoming freshman – in a span of 59 days.
Penn State is coming off a 2022-23 season that saw the Nittany Lions finish 23-14 overall and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
SCOUTING DELAWARE STATE
Delaware State is coming off a 2022-23 season that saw the Hornets go 6-24 overall and 4-10 in MEAC play.
DSU was picked to finish sixth in the eight-team conference in the MEAC preseason poll.
The Hornets are led by senior Martaz Robinson, a preseason first-team All-MEAC selection, who averaged 11.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in 30.3 minutes per game a season ago.
Brandon Stone (11.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg in 2022-23) and Jevin Muniz (7.3 ppg in 2022-23) were picked as second-team preseason All-MEAC honorees.
AGAINST THE HORNETS
Penn State and Delaware State meet for the second-straight year in Monday night’s season opener.
The Nittany Lions are 4-0 all-time against the Hornets, including a 60-46 win inside the Bryce Jordan Center on Dec. 29, 2022
The Penn State defense held DSU to a 30.4 FG% in last year’s Nittany Lion victory.
Penn State is 16-1 all-time against current members of the MEAC.
ALL RHOADES LEAD TO HAPPY VALLEY
Mike Rhoades was announced as the 15th men’s basketball head coach in Penn State history on March 29, 2023.
Rhoades came to Penn State following a six-year stint as the head coach at VCU in which he guided the Rams to three NCAA Tournament appearances, a 129-60 overall record and 72-32 Atlantic 10 Conference record.
In 19 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Rhoades, a Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania native, has produced a 373-189 record, a winning percentage of .664, seven NCAA Tournament appearances and nine national postseason appearances.
ALLOW US TO REINTRODUCE OURSELVES
Mike Rhoades and his Nittany Lion coaching staff signed 10 players in a matter of 59 days upon arrival to Happy Valley this spring to build the 2023-24 Penn State roster.
Penn State returns just three scholarship players (Jameel Brown, Kanye Clary and Demetrius Lilley) and two walk-ons (Andy Christos and Dan Conlan) from the 2022-23 roster.
Rhoades and his staff signed nine transfers and one freshman in a span of 59 days from April to June, listed in order from first to last signing below:
Ace Baldwin Jr. – VCU
Nick Kern Jr. – VCU
Zach Hicks – Temple
Puff Johnson – North Carolina
Qudus Wahab – Georgetown
Leo O’Boyle – Lafayette
RayQuawndis Mitchell – Kansas City
Bragi Guðmundsson – Freshman
Favour Aire – Miami (Fla.)
D’Marco Dunn – North Carolina
TEST RUN
Penn State unofficially began the 2023-24 season with a 68-58 road win at Robert Morris in a preseason charity exhibition game on Oct. 27.
Penn State led for over 38 minutes in the game and outscored the Colonials 40-22 in the paint 40-22 in the Nittany Lions’ 10-point win. Defensively, Penn State limited Robert Morris to a 36.7 field goal percentage and forced 16 turnovers from the Colonials.
Forward Qudus Wahab led the way for Penn State with a 15-point, 10-rebound, 0-turnover double-double. Wahab added a block and a steal to his impressive line. Senior guard Ace Baldwin Jr. scored 13 points and contributed a team-leading six assists. Junior Zach Hicks added 11 points, while sophomore Kanye Clary rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.
GOT AN ACE UP OUR SLEEVE
Senior point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. has earned well-deserved preseason recognition as a preseason top 20 finalist for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year award as well as being ranked as the No. 40 player on The Almanac’s list of Top 100 Players entering the 2023-24 season.
Baldwin Jr. enters his first season at Penn State after transferring from VCU to rejoin Penn State head coach Mike Rhoades. The Baltimore, Md. native put together three standout seasons at VCU as a two-time all-conference pick and the 2023 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
Baldwin Jr. owns collegiate career marks of 829 points (10.4 ppg), 419 assists (5.2 apg) and 183 steals (2.3 spg). He averaged double-digit points during both his sophomore and junior seasons and led the Rams in assists in all three of his seasons at VCU, while guiding the Rams to a 68-25 record, two NCAA Tournaments and one NIT appearance through his three seasons at VCU.
Baldwin Jr. is coming off a 2022-23 season that saw him average 12.7 ppg, while ranking 15th nationally in assists per game (5.8) and 19th nationally in steals per game (2.23). The 2023 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, Baldwin Jr. was the catalyst for a VCU defense that ranked 15th nationally in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric last season.
HISTORIC 2022-23 SEASON
The Nittany Lions completed one of the finest seasons in program history in 2022-23 as Penn State finished 23-14 overall and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Penn State won its first NCAA Tournament game since 2001 when the 10th-seeded Nittany Lions dismantled seventh-seeded Texas A&M 76-59 in the first round of the Midwest Regional in Des Moines, Iowa on March 16. The Nittany Lions made their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011.
Penn State also advanced to the Big Ten Tournament Championship game for the first time since 2011, and put together just the 12th 20-plus win season in program history.
LIONS IN THE LEAGUE
Penn State is well-represented on 2023-24 NBA rosters. Three Nittany Lion alumni are on NBA rosters, while two others are in the front office and coaching ranks:
Lamar Stevens ’20 – Boston Celtics – Fourth season in NBA
Signed with Boston in September after 3 seasons with Cleveland
Jalen Pickett ’23 – Denver Nuggets – Rookie season
Drafted as No. 32 overall pick by Nuggets in 2023 NBA Draft
Seth Lundy ’23 – Atlanta Hawks – Rookie season
Drafted as No. 46 overall pick by Hawks in 2023 NBA Draft
Calvin Booth ’98 – General Manager – Denver Nuggets
Front office mastermind behind Denver’s first title run in franchise history in 2023
Andrew Jones ’11 – Assistant Coach – Toronto Raptors
First season with Raptors after previous stops with Pistons, 76ers
The Nittany Lions also currently have four players on NBA G League training camp rosters:
Andrew Funk M’23 – Grand Rapids Gold – Affiliate of Denver Nuggets
Josh Reaves ’19 – Rio Grand Valley Vipers – Affiliate of Houston Rockets
Mike Watkins ’20 – Delaware Blue Coats – Affiliate of Philadelphia 76ers
Jamari Wheeler ’21 – Grand Rapids Gold – Affiliate of Denver Nuggets
UP NEXT
Penn State remains home to host in-state foe Lehigh Friday at 7:30 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
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