Penn State Basketball: Nittany Lions Look to Extend Unbeaten Start

The Nittany Lions host Purdue Fort Wayne at the Bryce Jordan Center. How to watch, stream, listen to the game.

Penn State Nittany Lions guard Ace Baldwin Jr. (1) and head coach Mike Rhoades talk during the second half against the Virginia Tech Hokies at CFG Bank Arena. / Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

Penn State men's basketball looks to build on its undefeated start when it hosts Purdue Fort Wayne on Wednesday night from the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions have dominated their nonconference slate so far, including an 86-64 win over ACC foe Virginia Tech in Baltimore last week. Prior to that, they rolled past Binghamton, UMBC and St. Francis (Pa.). Penn State even received four votes in the lates AP Top 25 men's basketball poll.

Here's what you need to know about the Penn State-Purdue Fort Wayne game.

Penn State (4-0) vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (3-1)

• When: 7 p.m. ET Wednesday

• Where: Bryce Jordan Center

• TV/Streaming: Big Ten Plus

• Ken Pomeroy rankings: Penn State is No. 33; Purdue Fort Wayne is No. 116

How to watch, stream, listen to Penn State basketball

The Penn State-Purdue Fort Wayne game, part of the Sunshine Slam, does not have a broadcast designation. It will be streamed on BIG+, the Big Ten Network's streaming service. Dylan Price and Chris Reynolds will have the call. Can't stream the game? Listen to Steve Jones and Dick Jerardi on the Penn State Sports Network. The game also can be heard on SiriusXM channel 382 or on the SiriusXM app at channel 972.

Penn State vs. Purdue Fort Wayne preview

About the Nittany Lions: Penn State is off to a hot start in scoring and margin of victory against its four nonconference points. The Nittany Lions rank fourth in the nation with a +35.8 scoring margin and is eighth in the nation with 97.3 points per game. The program received four votes in the latest AP Poll, its first time receiving votes since the 2022-23 season. 

Penn State has been scoring in bunches and getting production from multiple contributors. Three-point specialist Zach Hicks is shooting 48.3 percent from beyond the arc and averaging a team-leading 15.5 points. Ace Baldwin Jr., Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Puff Johnson and D’Marco Dunn are all averaging over 10 points per game, as well. 

A big part of the scoring has come from a defense that averages 15.3 steals per game and has a +10.8 turnover margin, which is the best in the nation in both categories. Baldwin, the defending Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, leads the defense with 11 steals. 

Niederhauser has also proven to be a strong transfer addition so far as Penn State’s premier big man. The Northern Illinois transfer is third on the team with 11.3 points per game, and he leads the team with 6.5 rebounds per game. 

About the Mastodons: Purdue Fort Wayne is arguably the best opponent Penn State has faced so far this season. The Mastodons were picked as preseason favorites to win the Horizon League after posting a 23-13 record last season. They're 3-1 with wins over Bluffton, Bethune-Cookman and Southern Indiana. The lone blemish is a close road loss to UCF, which received 21 votes in this week’s AP Poll.  

The Mastodons have two main scoring threats in guards Rasheed Bello and Jalen Jackson. Bello leads the team with 18.5 points per game, and Jackson has 17.0 points per game. Forward Eric Mulder has also played well this season, averaging 10.8 points per game and hogging the boards with a team-leading 8.5 rebounds per game.

Up next

Following Wednesday night’s game, Penn State will head to Daytona Beach to play in the next stage of the Sunshine Slam. The Nittany Lions will start with a game against Fordham (2-2) on Nov. 25, and then play either Clemson (3-1) or San Francisco (4-0) on Nov. 26. 

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Sam Woloson has covered Penn State Athletics for the past three years and is currently the managing editor of The Daily Collegian. His work has also appeared in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Huntingdon Daily News and Rivals. Follow him on X @sam_woloson