On February 8, the Penn State men’s basketball team will host USC for the first time ever.
Sunday’s game will be Penn State’s annual THON game that continues to make great strides towards finding a cure for all childhood cancers and has raised over $254 million since it began, including $17.7 million in 2024 alone.
The Trojans will enter the Bryce Jordan Center with an overall record of 17-6 and a Big Ten Conference record of 6-6.
They most recently played against Indiana Feb. 3 and won the contest at home 81-75.
USC is led by head coach, Eric Musselman, who is in his second year at the helm.
The Trojans have four players averaging double-digits in points.
Rodney Rice is a 6′-5″ junior guard leading the Trojans in points averaging 20.3 ppg. He is also tallying 3.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.
Rice is followed by 6′-7″ senior guard, Chad Baker-Mazara, who is registering 18.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
Ezra Ausar is a 6′-9″ senior forward who is scoring 16.0 ppg. and grabbing 6.1 rpg.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Then Alijah Arenas, who is the son of former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, is a 6′-6″ freshman guard averaging 11.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.
The Nittany Lions will definitely have their hands full on Sunday. They are hoping to have the services of 7-foot center, Ivan Juric, back as he has missed the last 2 games recovering from the flu. He is currently averaging 9.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
Freddie Dilione V., is now leading Penn State in points scoring 14.1 ppg. The redshirt junior is also registering 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
He is followed by freshman point guard, Kayden Mingo, who is averaging 13.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. Mingo is the third-highest scoring freshman in the Big Ten.
Then lone senior on the team, Josh Reed, is coming in at 10.3 ppg. and ripping down 3.9 rebounds per game.
The Nittany Lions, the youngest Power 5 Conference team in the country, have faced the Big Ten’s top teams right away in the early part of the B1G season. The Nittany Lions have played six games against five of the top six teams in the conference standings through games on Feb. 5.
Sunday’s THON game will tip at Noon and will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
Nittany Sports Now will be at the game to bring you all the action.
