On Sunday, a Keystone Clash at the historic Palestra in Philadelphia will feature the 2-0 Penn State Nittany Lions versus the 2-0 Pitt Panthers.
Penn State is coming off two wins this week first against Canisius, 97-57, and against Chattanooga by the score of 97-93.
Pitt won their season opener as well by defeating Rider, 97-57 (how ironic) and then beating Buffalo 80-61.
Sunday evening’s game will be each team’s toughest test yet so far this year.
Both head coaches have also taken some heat lately due to lackluster performances in the 2025-2026 season.
Mike Rhoades’ overall coaching record in State College is 46-52 and Jeff Capel’s overall record at Pitt is 129-127.
Penn State finished last season with an overall record of 12-20 and a Big Ten record of 3-17.
Pitt finished last year with a 13-20 record and an ACC record of 5-13.
The Nittany Lions currently have four players averaging double-digits in scoring with Roko Prkacin at 20.5 ppg., Josh Reed at 18.5 ppg., Ivan Juric 14.5 ppg. and Francois Wibaut with 12.0 ppg.
Juric is also averaging double-digits in rebounding at 12.5 rpg.
The Panthers are also led by four players averaging double-digits in scoring. Chase Foster is pouring in 21.5 ppg., Baye Ndongo 17.5 ppg. and both Naithan George and Jonathan Powell are at 12.0 ppg.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Ndongo is also averaging double-digits in rebounding at 13.5 rpg.
As a team, Penn State is averaging 97 points per game and the Panthers are averaging 88.5 points per game.
The Blue & White is shooting 50.8% from the field and 23.8% from three-point range.
The Blue & Gold is shooting 44% from the field and 39% from downtown.
Both teams are looking to turn the corner this year and make some noise in their respective, Power Four Conference.
There’s no better place to make their mark than inside the Cathedral of College Basketball.
Sunday marks the 150th all-time meeting between Penn State and Pittsburgh, with the Nittany Lions holding a narrow 76-73 advantage in the series. The matchup is part of the Palestra’s 100th anniversary celebration.
Tip-off is at 8:00 P.M. and the game will be televised live on ESPN2.
Nittany Sports Now will be in Philly to cover the game so stay with NSN for all your game updates and coverage.
