So far this offseason, this is what we already know about the Penn State men’s basketball schedule upcoming opponents and where the team is playing. Some of these games are just reports, and are not in stone just yet.
NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUPS
- Monday, Nov. 3: Home against Fairfield University (reportedly). The Stags play in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and went 12-20 last season.
- Saturday, Nov. 8: Away against New Haven University (confirmed). The Chargers are transitioning to Division I and will be a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) July 1. They went 12-17 last year.
- Saturday, Nov. 15: Away against La Salle. The Explorers compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference. This game is being played at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia (reportedly being finalized). The Explorers went 14-19 last season. This night also features a hometown doubleheader of Philadelphia’s own Drexel University taking on Syracuse.
- Saturday, Nov. 22: Away vs. Providence at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut (confirmed). Providence went 12-20 last year and they are from the Big East Conference.
BIG TEN HOME OPPONENTS (confirmed)
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Michigan State
- Minnesota
- Wisconsin
- UCLA
- USC
BIG TEN AWAY OPPENENTS (confirmed)
- Indiana
- Maryland
- Nebraska
- Northwestern
- Purdue
- Washington
- Oregon
BIG TEN HOME AND AWAY OPPONENTS (confirmed)
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.- Michigan
- Ohio State
- Rutgers
The full schedule with game times and broadcast information is typically released in late September or early October.
Last season, Penn State finished with a winning overall record of 16-15 and a conference record of 6-14. The team took a major blow when fifth-year senior forward Puff Johnson suffered a season-ending injury January 15 against Michigan State. After the injury, the team went 4-10. Johnson was averaging 10.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Penn State did rebound and finish the season on a positive note by upsetting No. 12 Wisconsin at the Kohl Center in Madison. Earlier in the year, Penn State knocked off No. 8 Purdue at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Mike Rhoades and his staff declined a postseason invite to the NIT in order to focus on offseason development. This was probably a wise decision due to Penn State graduating five seniors, losing five players in the transfer portal, and another player to the upcoming NBA Draft.
The good news for Penn State basketball is that it has brought in the No. 26 recruiting class in the country. It’s the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history. Penn State also hired Scott Pera as General Manager in May to lead the organization and execution of recruiting and long-term roster management strategies.
