Penn State-Michigan Basketball Preview: Back to the Palestra

Penn State coach Mike Rhoades wants to make the Philadelphia "home" game an annual tradition.

On Sunday at a sold-out Palestra, Penn State will play a home game in Philadelphia for the second straight year when it "hosts" Michigan. While Penn State hasn’t been dominant in the Philadelphia basketball landscape over the years, first-year coach Mike Rhoades understands quite well the importance of this event and hopes to make it an annual occurrence.

“It's a huge area for us and in terms of recruiting and all the connections we have there from our staff and myself with all the high school coaches and the basketball people in Philadelphia,” said Rhoades, who will coach for the first time at the arena. “It'll be an honor to be at the Palestra and be in Philly representing Penn State.”

Penn State sophomores Jameel Brown, Demetrius Lilley and first-year assistant Jimmy Martelli each have a homecoming in store. There's extra emphasis for Martelli, whose father Phil Martelli is a Michigan assistant and was the longtime head coach at Saint Joseph’s. Jimmy said his mom has made it “very clear” she’ll be wearing the wrong shade of blue Sunday, and he’s already getting messages from family members about the game.

“The game means a lot to my family, and we're very appreciative of the opportunity to play at such a historic venue as the Palestra. To coach against your dad is something special, something unique,” Jimmy Martelli said. “I didn't get a chance to see him over the holidays, so I'm really looking forward to seeing them and giving him a hug and spending some time with them as well.”

Brown and Lilley will play in their hometowns for the second time, though Brown played just two minutes last season against Purdue and Lilley didn’t enter the game. They’ve both played significantly increased roles this year and should see the court in an arena they frequented growing up and hold in high regard.

“I feel as though Philadelphia basketball is a whole different thing. Like if you're from Philadelphia, you're gonna play hard, you're gonna give all you got, work hard at all times,” said Lilley, who added the Palestra brings back “childhood memories. “Being from Philly, from a basketball standpoint, is just a different breed.”

“The Palestra's definitely a big thing in Philadelphia growing up. I watched a lot of high school basketball there, college basketball there,” Brown said. “So it's definitely an honor to go play at the Palestra again and also wear Penn State on your chest.”

Penn State (7-7, 1-2) vs. Michigan (6-8, 1-2)

When: Noon ET Sunday

Where: The Palestra, Philadelphia

TV: Big Ten Network

Streaming: FuboTV (start your free trial)

Series history: Michigan leads 39-15

Last meeting: Penn State 83-61 in January 2023

KenPom rankings: Penn State is No. 116; Michigan is No. 62

NCAA NET rankings: Penn State is 136; Michigan is 84

About the Lions: Penn State took a beating at Michigan State on Thursday then got stuck in Michigan and was unable to come home before flying to Philadelphia. On the bright side, Rhoades had his full roster available for the first time this season against the Spartans. The Lions are looking for any form of consistency they can get right now, especially from veteran leaders who have struggled to score. They have struggled to shoot the ball in their losses and don’t have much of a presence on the interior or the glass. Against Michigan State, Penn State shot 10.3 percent from 3-point range and had 14 first-half turnovers. If the Lions are going to get on track in Big Ten play, they'll need another big game from breakout sophomore Kanye Clary, who leads with 18.4 points per game.

“Losing sucks. Period,” Rhoades said this week. “I want it to hurt our guys. I want it to hurt our staff. I want it to burn. I don't want to forget it. But you gotta understand how to use it to learn to get better and go from there.”

About the Wolverines: Michigan, on a three-game losing streak, is the only team in the Big Ten currently with an overall record below .500. Head coach Juwan Howard returned to coach the Wolverines last month after undergoing heart surgery in September, adding to an eventful season thus far. Guard Dug McDaniel leads the way with 18.3 points and 5.1 assists per game, while 6-9 Olivier Nkamhoua could present challenges for Penn State with his 17.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. “They run They run a lot of plays to get guys certain opportunities on certain spots in the court where they're most aggressive. We gotta cause problems, we gotta cause issues,” Rhoades said. “We can't make it so easy for them to run the plays that they want. Easier said than done, but our defense has improved.”

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Max Ralph is a Penn State senior studying Broadcast Journalism with minors in sports studies and Japanese. He previously covered Penn State football for two years with The Daily Collegian and has reported with the Associated Press and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Follow him on Twitter (X) @maxralph_ and Instagram @mralph_59.

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