Meet The Opponent: Indiana Faces Penn State At The Palestra

In its second season under coach Mike Rhoades, Penn State returned most of its roster from last year, when it won two out of three games against Indiana.

Penn State's Ace Baldwin Jr. (1) against Virginia Tech at CFG Bank Arena. / Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana and Penn State have played annually since the 1992-93 season, but Sunday’s game comes with a unique wrinkle.

Instead of playing at Penn State’s home arena, the Bryce Jordan Center, the game will take place in Philadelphia at the Palestra, one of college basketball’s oldest and most iconic venues. Sometimes referred to as “the birthplace of college basketball,” the Palestra opened in 1927 and became known for hosting games with the Philadelphia 5: Penn, St. Joseph's, Temple, La Salle and Villanova.

Tipoff is scheduled for noon ET Sunday between Indiana and Penn State on Big Ten Network. Coach Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers are coming off an 84-74 win Thursday at home against Rutgers, when they played without leading scorer Malik Reneau. Penn State, in its second season under coach Mike Rhoades, is 12-2 overall and most recently defeated Northwestern 84-80 on Thursday in State College, Pa.

Here’s a full breakdown of the Nittany Lions.

Key players

• G Ace Baldwin Jr.: 15 ppg, 8.5 apg, 2.3 spg, 31.6 3pt FG%
• F Yanic Konan Niederhauser: 13.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.9 bpg, 63.6 FG%
• F Zach Hicks: 12.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.1 apg, 44.7 3pt FG%
• G Nick Kern: 11.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.3 apg, 66.3 FG%
• G Puff Johnson: 10.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 29.7 3pt FG%
• G Freddie Dilione V: 9.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 27.9 3pt FG%
• G D’Marco Dunn: 5.9 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 35.3 3pt FG%
• C Kachi Nzeh: 3.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 57.1 FG%
• G Dominick Stewart: 3.3 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 40.0 3pt FG%
• G Jahvin Carter: 2.8 ppg, 1.1 apg, 42.1 3pt FG%

Key departures

(2023-24 stats)

• G Kanye Clary: 16.7 ppg, 2.8 apg, 37.7 3pt FG%
• C Qudus Wahab: 9.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.5 bpg, 59.4 FG%
• G Jameel Brown: 4.0 ppg, 31.9 3pt FG%
• G Rayquawndis Mitchell: 3.1 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 31.6 3pt FG%
• F Demetrius Lilley: 2.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 70.3 FG%
• F Leo O’Boyle: 2.0 ppg, 28.3 3pt FG%

2024-25 schedule (12-2, 2-1)

• Strength of schedule: 314
• W, 108-66 vs. Binghamton, Nov. 4
• W, 103-54 vs. UMBC, Nov. 8
• W, 92-62 vs. Saint Francis (PA), Nov. 12
• W, 86-64 vs. Virginia Tech (neutral), Nov. 15
• W, 102-89 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne, Nov. 20
• W, 85-66 vs. Fordham (neutral), Nov. 25
• L, 75-67 vs. Clemson (neutral), Nov. 26
• W, 87-64 vs. Buffalo, Dec. 1
• W, 81-70 vs. No. 8 Purdue, Dec. 5
• L, 80-76 at Rutgers, Dec. 10
• W, 99-51 vs. Coppin State, Dec. 14
• W, 75-64 at Drexel, Dec. 21
• W, 86-66 vs. Penn, Dec. 29
• W, 84-80 vs. Northwestern, Jan. 2

Head coach: Mike Rhoades

Rhoades is in his second season at Penn State with a 28-19 overall record and an 11-12 record in Big Ten play. The Nittany Lions tied for ninth in the Big Ten and did not reach the NCAA Tournament in his first season. Rhoades previously coached VCU from 2017-23, where he had a 129-61 overall record and a 72-32 record in the Atlantic 10. VCU won two conference regular season titles and one conference tournament title under Rhoades. The Rams also made the NCAA Tournament three times but did not win a game. Rhoades was also the Rice head coach from 2014-17 and the associate head coach at VCU from 2009-14. Following his playing career at Lebanon Valley College, Rhoades got his first job as an assistant coach for Randolph-Macon College from 1996-99 and later became its head coach from 1999-2009, going 197-76.

Series history

Indiana leads the all-time series 43-17, but Penn State has won five of the last seven games dating back to coach Mike Woodson’s first season. The Nittany Lions won the first two matchups last season, 85-71 and 83-74, before the Hoosiers snapped their four-game losing streak in the series with a 61-59 win over Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament. From 1978-2003, Indiana won 20 of its first 21 games against Penn State.

Strengths

Rhoades and the Nittany Lions hit the ground running this year, because most of their roster returned from last season. Reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of Year Ace Baldwin and Penn State’s pressure defense gave Indiana major trouble last season, and the Hoosiers face those factors again on Sunday. Baldwin leads the Big Ten with 2.3 steals per game, and Penn State ranks 19th nationally with 10 steals per game. Opponents have a 23.5% turnover percentage, which puts Penn State’s defense eighth nationally in that category. It’ll be a long day for the Hoosiers if they can’t take care of the ball.

Offensively, Penn State wants to play fast. It ranks 17th nationally in adjusted tempo and seventh at 87.9 points per game. Baldwin leads the way at 15 points per game, but six Nittany Lions average at least 9.9 points per game. Indiana will have to defend a variety of scoring threats, much different from Thursday’s win over Rutgers, when Ace Bailey scored 39 points but didn’t have much help. Penn State does not shoot many threes, ranking 266th in 3-point attempt rate, but it ranks a solid 95th by hitting 35.3%.

Though Penn State had the luxury of returning most of its roster from last year, Rhoades also made a few key transfer portal additions. Northern Illinois transfer center Yanic Konan Niederhauser gives Penn State a much needed interior threat, averaging a team-high 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game at 6-foot-10. Tennessee transfer Freddie Dilione V complements the returning guard and wing core of Baldwin, Nick Kern, Zach Hicks, Puff Johnson and D’Marco Dunn.

Weaknesses

Penn State is on pace to shatter last year’s win total of 16, but are the Nittany Lions for real? They’ve played the nation’s 314th strength of schedule and are 0-1 in Quad 1 games. A few of its wins – at home against Purdue and Northwestern – could turn into Quad 1 victories, but Penn State’s resume at 12-2 is not loaded with quality wins. 

It also has several concerning losses, falling by four points at Rutgers, a team Indiana just beat, and by eight points at a neutral site against an 11-3 Clemson team. In those games, Penn State finished with its lowest and third-lowest scoring outputs of the season. Penn State shot just 22.2% from 3-point range and committed 16 turnovers against Clemson. Rutgers scored 80 points against what has otherwise been a solid Penn State defense this season. Penn State is a middle-of-the-pack rebounding team nationally, which could be an issue against a tall Indiana frontcourt.

Season and game outlook

Penn State entered the year picked 17th out of 18 Big Ten teams in the preseason media poll, but that prediction already looks misguided. The Nittany Lions are 41st in the NET rankings and 38th in KenPom, good for 10th among Big Ten teams in both categories. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi projects Penn State as a No. 10 seed and one of the last four byes in his latest NCAA Tournament Bracketology. The NET, KenPom and Bracketology all rank Penn State higher than Indiana.

Penn State had Indiana’s number last season, winning the first two matchups by 14 and nine points, respectively. Indiana won a back-and-forth matchup in the Big Ten Tournament to snap its four-game losing streak in the series. The Hoosiers struggled against the Nittany Lions’ pressure defense and 3-point shooting, which they’ve succeeded with early in this season. Penn State returned most of its roster from last season, while Indiana’s is much different after bringing in six transfers and a freshman. KenPom gives Penn State a 66% chance of victory and predicts an 83-78 final score. 

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