Penn State will return to the Bryce Jordan Center for its second game of the year against another America Big East team, The University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
This is the fifth matchup between these teams, with Penn State winning the previous four. The last time these two teams played was Dec. 29, 2018. Penn State won 74-52.
PENN STATE’S OUTLOOK
The biggest storyline coming out of Penn State’s first 100-point game in seven years was its defense creating offense. The team forced 21 turnovers and scored 31 points off those takeaways.
Swiss is One Way to Describe Penn State’s Blowout Victory in Its Season Opener | Takeaways
Four players recorded three or more steals, with senior Nick Kern Jr. leading the way with four.
And while Penn State delivered on coach Mike Rhoades’ promise to shoot more 3s (45 percent of its shots were from distance), it was defensive activity that ultimately sealed the win early in the game.
PSU could start 2-0 Friday with a win for the third straight season.
UMBC (1-0, 0-0)
HEAD COACH
Jim Ferry (4th season with the Retrievers, 47-49 record during his tenure)
Ferry took over as head coach of UMBC in 2021. In his first two years with the program, he led the team to a 36-28 record, making a conference championship appearance in his first season. However, this past season was not as glorious, as the team went 11-21 and had an early first-round exit out of the America East playoffs.
Penn State fans should know Ferry since he was an assistant on Pat Chambers’ staff for four seasons. Then, when Chambers was suddenly fired in October 2020, Ferry became the interim coach for that season, going 11-14.
TOP RETURNING SCORERS
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Marcus Banks Jr., Guard, 6-foot-3
An All-Conference selection, Banks was second in points per game last year for the Retrievers, averaging 15.1 while shooting 35.6 percent from three. He led the America East in total made threes (85) and threes per game (2.7) and scored a career-best 28 points (6-of-10 from three) against New Hampshire. In the season opener for UMBC, Banks led all scorers with 27 points and made 7 threes.
Bryce Johnson, Guard, 6-foot-4
Johnson contributed 10.6 points a night on shooting splits of 46/38/74. His career-high 31 points came against American, where he shot 11-for-16 and nailed 6 triples. Johnson tallied nine points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals in the Retrievers’ season-opening win over Penn State York.
Ace Valentine, Guard, 6-foot-3
Valentine averaged 6.3 points and a team-high 2.7 assists (10th in the conference) in his freshman campaign. He scored a career-high 17 points against UMass-Lowell, making his case for a spot on the America East All-Rookie Team. Valentine dished out three assists to start the 2024-25 season and grabbed three rebounds against Penn State York.
METRICS
Penn State is ranked 52nd while UMBC is slotted at 281st according to kenpom.com’s net rating.
GAME TIME
Tip-off for Friday’s game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. EST at the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State’s full schedule can be found here.
SPREAD
Penn State is favored by 19.5 points, per DraftKings Sportsbook. The over/under is set around 162. Penn State Moneyline is -6500, while the UMBC Moneyline is +2000.
TV
You can catch Friday night’s game on the Big Ten Network.
