Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1480138
4 6 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M The second season of the Micah Shrewsberry era at Penn State is now set. On Sept. 8, the Big Ten Conference revealed opponents and dates for the Nittany Lions' full league schedule. As expected, they have another doozy on their hands. The conference is once again whetting appetites with a two-game set in the middle of nonconfer- ence play. In Penn State's case, that means a Dec. 7 date with Michigan State at the Bryce Jordan Center followed by a Dec. 10 trip to Illinois. To open with the Spartans and Illini is, of course, a brutal way to begin. Illinois is expected to contend for the league title, and with coach Tom Izzo's Michigan State team, the Nittany Lions always face an uphill climb. Resuming league play following three final non- conference games, the Lions pick back up in the new year. The task gets no easier from there. PSU will welcome Iowa to the BJC on New Year's Day, then is slated to visit Michigan on Jan. 4. After that, Penn State will return to its home away from home — Philadelphia's fabled Palestra — where it is slated to "host" Purdue on Jan. 8. The Nittany Lions have gone 2-0 at the iconic Big 5 venue in recent years, defeating Michigan State in 2017 and Iowa in 2020. After returning to the BJC against Indiana on Jan. 11, Penn State will take six days off before re- suming action at Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions will then play their only Saturday home game of the conference season, hosting Nebraska on Jan. 21. PSU will hit the road for three of four games following its date with the Cornhuskers. That includes trips to Rutgers (Jan. 24), Purdue (Feb. 1) and Nebraska (Feb. 5) sandwiched around a Jan. 29 home date with Michigan. The rest of the February slate includes home dates with Wisconsin (Feb. 8), Illinois (Feb. 14), and Rutgers (Feb. 26), interspersed with road trips to Maryland (Feb. 11), Minnesota (Feb. 18) and Ohio State (Feb. 23). Penn State will close out the conference sched- ule with a trip to Evanston to take on Northwest- ern (March 1), and the regular season concludes with a visit from Maryland on March 5. The conference schedule is likely to raise some familiar complaints due to the scarcity of Saturday games. PSU has struggled to bring fans into the State College area on weeknights during the win- ter months, and the program banks on Saturday dates to draw its biggest crowds. This season's lone Saturday home game is against the Cornhuskers, and it falls on the same day as an ice hockey tilt at Pegula Ice Arena be- tween the Nittany Lions and Notre Dame at 5 p.m. Meanwhile, Penn State will travel for three Saturday games — at Illinois in December, and back-to-back trips to Maryland and Minnesota in February. — Nate Bauer Challenges Abound In Penn State's Big Ten Basketball Schedule Penn State will begin its second season under coach Micah Shrewsberry with a home game against Winthrop on Nov. 7. The Lions will welcome Michigan State on Dec. 7 to open their Big Ten slate. PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS 2022-23 Penn State Men's Basketball Schedule Date Opponent Nov. 7 WINTHROP Nov. 10 LOYOLA Nov. 14 BUTLER Nov. 17 at Furman* Nov. 18 TBD* Nov. 19 TBD* Nov. 25 LAFAYETTE Nov. 29 at Clemson** Dec. 7 MICHIGAN STATE Dec. 10 at Illinois Dec. 18 CANISIUS Dec. 22 QUINNIPIAC Dec. 29 DELAWARE STATE Jan. 1 IOWA Jan. 4 at Michigan Jan. 8 PURDUE^ Jan. 11 INDIANA Jan. 17 at Wisconsin Jan. 21 NEBRASKA Jan. 24 at Rutgers Jan. 29 MICHIGAN Feb. 1 at Purdue Feb. 5 at Nebraska Feb. 8 WISCONSIN Feb. 11 at Maryland Feb. 14 ILLINOIS Feb. 18 at Minnesota Feb. 23 at Ohio State Feb. 26 RUTGERS March 1 at Northwestern March 5 MARYLAND March 8-12 Big Ten Tournament^^ * at Charleston (S.C.) Classic ** ACC/Big Ten Challenge ^ at Philadelphia ^^ at Chicago