hands on his head in Penn State men’s basketball’s game against Saint Francis in the Bryce Jordan Center on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024 in University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions beat the Red
Eight games into the 2024-25 season, Penn State has a strong 7-1 record, but it doesn’t have a signature win on its resume.
The Nittany Lions’ weak nonconference schedule provided a good start to coach Mike Rhoades’ goals of building a winning program in Happy Valley, but also may not have the team ready for tougher games throughout the early portions of the Big Ten schedule.
The blue and white started its season by cruising to victories over Binghamton, UMBC and Saint Francis. All three of these games were expected wins for Penn State, but its high scoring was an interesting takeaway, as it ranked toward the top of Division I in total offense.
Rhoades’ squad had its first test against a Power Five conference opponent in Virginia Tech, where it won 86-64, but the Hokies — ranked No. 134 by KenPom — are turning out to be not as good as years past
Purdue Fort Wayne came to the Bryce Jordan Center as a sneaky team that could pull off an upset, as they were picked to finish first in the Horizon League. The game was close early in the second half before Rhoades passionately waved his arms, asking for the crowd to create disruption.
The call worked, and a much more disruptive crowd in the second half helped power the Nittany Lions to a 102-89 win. The team held a 5-0 record for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign, and Rhoades’ call-to-action by asking fans in attendance to “sweat with us” in his postgame presser built a lot of hype going into the Sunshine Slam.
