UNIVERSITY PARK – The Penn State men’s basketball team is set to take on #9 Michigan State in the Nittany Lions’ Big Ten home opener Saturday at noon inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will air nationally on Big Ten Network.

FOLLOW ALONG

TICKETS: Tickets

PROMOTIONS: Free t-shirts for first 1,000 students; Schuylkill County Day

TV: Big Ten Network – Chris Vosters (pxp) & Steve Smith (analyst)

RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)

NATIONAL RADIO: SiriusXM Ch. 372 & SXM App Ch. 372

OPENING TIPS

The Nittany Lions host a top-10 Michigan State team inside the Bryce Jordan Center Saturday afternoon in Penn State’s Big Ten home opener.

Penn State is 8-2 on the season and coming off a 72-113 road loss at Indiana Tuesday night.

Guard Kayden Mingo is the highest-scoring freshman in the Big Ten.

Mingo (15.4 ppg) leads four Nittany Lions averaging double-figure points. Freddie Dilione V (13.3 ppg), Melih Tunca (12.8 ppg) and Josh Reed (10.0 ppg) follow.

IF PENN STATE BEATS #9 MICHIGAN STATE

The Nittany Lions would beat a team ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll for the first time since Dec. 5, 2024 when Penn State took down #8 Purdue 81-70 inside the Bryce Jordan Center.

PSU would earn its fifth win over a top-15 ranked team in the Mike Rhoades era.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS

The ninth-ranked Spartans are 8-1 overall and 1-0 in Big Ten play this season.

Michigan State comes to Happy Valley following its first loss of the season, a 66-60 defeat to #4 Duke last Saturday in East Lansing.

The Spartans took down Iowa 71-52 in their Big Ten opener on Dec. 2 at the Breslin Center.

Michigan State will be playing its first true road game of the season Saturday when the Spartans head to the Bryce Jordan Center.

Jaxon Kohler leads four Spartans in double figures with 14.2 points per game. Jeremy Fears Jr. (11.6 ppg), Coen Carr (11.1 ppg) and Carson Cooper (10.3 ppg) follow.

AGAINST MICHIGAN STATE

Penn State and #9 Michigan State meet for the only time this regular season Saturday afternoon in Happy Valley.

Seven of the last nine matchups between PSU and MSU have been decided by single-digit margins.

The Spartans have won the last four meetings between the two teams.

Five of Penn State’s 10 all-time wins vs. Michigan State have come in Happy Valley.

The Nittany Lions last beat the Spartans on Feb. 15, 2022, a 62-58 Penn State win over 19th-ranked Michigan State.

TOP 15 WINS

The Nittany Lions are seeking their fifth win over a team ranked in the top 15 of the AP Poll under third-year head coach Mike Rhoades.

Rhoades and his staff have guided the Nittany Lions to four wins over top 15 teams through two full seasons at the helm, and get their first opportunity to add a fifth victory when #9 Michigan State visits Saturday.

Top 15 Wins under Mike Rhoades:

at #12 Wisconsin – 3/8/25 – W, 86-75

#8 Purdue – 12/5/24 – W, 81-70

#12 Illinois – 2/21/24 – W, 90-89

#11 Wisconsin – 1/16/24 – W, 87-83

8-2

Penn State is off to an 8-2 start to the season. The Nittany Lions started the year 8-1 for the second-straight year, marking the first time since 1994-95 & 1995-96 that the Nittany Lions have started back-to-back seasons 8-1 or better.

DISCIPLINED

Penn State’s young squad has shown tremendous discipline as the Nittany Lions rank second in the country in fewest turnovers per game (8.8). The Nittany Lions committed just three turnovers on Nov. 25 vs. Boston University, the fewest turnovers Penn State has surrendered in a game since Dec. 22, 2022.

Penn State’s young team also ranks 10th in the country in fewest fouls per game (13.9).

STEALS LEADER

The Nittany Lions lead the Big Ten with 8.1 steals per game. Penn State has led the conference in steals per game in each of Mike Rhoades’ three seasons at the helm.

NATIONAL NUMBERS

The Nittany Lions currently rank in the top 30 in the country in a number of statistical categories (rankings listed thru games on Dec. 10):

Team Stat

Value

National Rank

Fewest turnovers/game

8.8

2

Fewest fouls/game

13.9

10

Turnover margin

4.9

20

FG%

50.3%

30

Individual Stat

Value

National Rank

Assist-to-turnover ratio – Kayden Mingo

3.64

28

ONE OF ONE

Rookie guard Kayden Mingo is the ONLY freshman in the country averaging 15+ points (15.4 ppg), 4+ assists (4.0 apg), 3.5+ rebounds (3.8 rpg) and 2+ steals (2.1 spg) per game through games on Dec. 10.

DYNAMIC ROOKIE DUO

Penn State is one of just four schools in Division I to have two freshmen both averaging 12.5 or more points per game through games on Dec. 10.

Penn State: Kayden Mingo (15.4 ppg) & Melih Tunca (12.8 ppg)

Illinois: Keaton Wagler (14.7 ppg) & David Mirkovic (14.6 ppg)

Arkansas: Darius Acuff Jr. (17.4 ppg) & Maleek Thomas (16.9 ppg)

Portland: Timo George (13.6 ppg) & Joel Foxwell (13.2 ppg)

BURSTING ONTO THE SCENE

Rookie Kayden Mingo is the highest scoring freshman in the Big Ten and he leads the Nittany Lions in points (15.4 ppg), assists (4.0 apg) and steals (2.1 spg) while ranking third in rebounds (3.8 rpg) through the first 10 games of the season. He has scored in double figures in nine of 10 games, including two 20-plus point efforts. He collected a single-game program record-tying eight steals against Sacred Heart on Nov. 29. His 3.64 assist-to-turnover ratio is a top-30 mark in the country.

Mingo, the highest-ranked recruit in program history, was named an ESPN Top 50 Impact Newcomer in late October. He was ranked as the No. 34 recruit nationally per 247Sports & No. 39 recruit nationally per ESPN out of high school. He was named the 2025 New York Gatorade Player of the Year following standout senior season at Long Island Lutheran.

STEADY FREDDIE

Redshirt junior Freddie Dilione V, Penn State’s only returning starter from a season ago, has been a consistent presence for the Nittany Lions thus far this season.

Dilione is averaging 13.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game with just 10 total turnovers in 251 minutes of playing time. His 13.3 points per game ranks second on the team.

He has scored in double figures in eight games this season, including a career-best 22 points and nine rebounds against Providence on Nov. 22.

OH MY MELIH

Istanbul, Turkey native Melih Tunca has been on fire to start the season, scoring in double figures in nine of 10 games while shooting 52.4 percent (43-82) from the field and 45.8 percent (11-24) from 3-point range.

Tunca ranks third on the squad in points (12.8 ppg) and second in assists (3.5 apg).

JUMP FOR JOSH

Senior Josh Reed was relied upon as a key defensive player in his three seasons at Cincinnati, averaging just 2.8 points per game through 97 career games with the Bearcats, but has made a massive offensive jump since transferring to Penn State for the 2025-26 season.

Reed is averaging 10.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game through 10 games this season while shooting 50.7 percent from the field. He has scored in double figures in five games this season after coming to Penn State with just seven career double-digit scoring games through his three seasons at Cincinnati.

NEW LOOK NITTANY LIONS

The new-look Nittany Lions feature 10 new players this season.

Penn State returns just 14.6 percent of points, 11.0 percent of rebounds, 12.5 percent of assists and 15.5 percent of minutes played from last season in its three returners – Freddie Dilione V, Eli Rice and Dominick Stewart.

The Nittany Lion roster is the 10th-most inexperienced roster in Division I per Bart Torvik’s experience metric. The Penn State roster features one senior, two juniors, two sophomores and eight freshmen.

UP NEXT

Penn State takes a brief break for final exams before returning to action next Sunday, Dec. 21, in a neutral site matchup with Pittsburgh at the GIANT Center in Hershey.