Penn State wraps up nonconference play with a matchup against the Penn Quakers (4-8, 0-0) at the Bryce Jordan Center. This is the 50th all-time matchup between these two teams, with PSU owning a 7-1 record at home against Penn.
The last time the Nittany Lions and Quakers faced off was in 2013 when Penn State won 83-71.
PENN STATE’S OUTLOOK
After Penn State’s win over Drexel on Dec. 21, PSU improved to 10-2, the team’s best start through 12 games since the 2019-20 season. During Mike Rhoades’ postgame press conference, the second-year head coach was asked if his team’s record was better than expected.
“For some people. For me, it’s never, that’s just me. Like we could be so much better …
But I really like coaching these guys. And I really like what we’re trying to do. So that’s been really, really fun and really exciting for me as the head coach. I could coach these guys hard and they respond to it. When we have adversity, they don’t run from it. They’re attacking it face on with their coaches and that’s how you build a program.”
And in only his second season, Rhoades has excelled in laying the foundation for a successful program. Before the turn of the new year, Penn State already has an AP top 1o victory and could have its best record through 13 games in five years (with a win on Sunday), the right kind of momentum before Big Ten play gets fully underway.
PENN (4-8, 0-0)
HEAD COACH
Steve Donahue (10th season, 144- 132)
Donahue is the 20th head coach for the Quakers. He is the only Ivy League men’s coach to lead two different Ancient Eight programs to conference championships, with his most recent coming in 2018 at Penn. During that 2017-18 season, the Quakers were 24-9 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, losing to Kansas in the first round.
Donahue is one of eight Ivy League coaches with over 100 conference wins, but he is the only one to reach that milestone across two different schools (78 at Cornell and 59 at Penn).
KEY PLAYER/STATS
Ethan Roberts, 6-foot-5, Guard
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Roberts is fourth in scoring in the Ivy League, averaging 16.6 points per game. He is Penn’s leading volume 3-point shooter, making nearly two a game at a 36 percent clip. Roberts is coming off a 10-point, five-assist showing in a loss to George Mason.
Nick Spinoso, 6-foot-9, Forward
Spinoso’s 12.7 points are second on Penn and 12th in the Ivy League. He leads the Quakers with 6.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists, both of which rank him within the top ten in the conference. Spinoso recently put together an eight-point, six-rebound effort against George Mason.
Sam Brown, 6-foot-3, Guard
Brown is averaging 8.5 points. His best game this season came against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, where he scored 22 points on 4-of-10 shooting from deep. Against George Mason, Brown had three points, one assist and one rebound.
Penn by the Numbers
Like Drexel, Penn plays at a controlled pace, ranking 307th in KenPom’s adjusted tempo. The Quakers rank 354th in total points and shoot the 10th-worst percentage from the field, per Sports Reference.
METRICS
Penn State is 34th in KenPom and 31st in the NCAA’s NET Rankings. Penn is 310th in KenPom and 344th in NET.
GAMETIME
Tip off is at 1 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State’s full schedule is available here.
SPREAD
The Nittany Lions are a 25-point favorite, per DraftKings Sportsbook. The Over-Under Total is 150.5 and the MoneyLines are Penn State -6500 and Penn +2000.
TV
Sunday’s game will be available to stream on Peacock.
