Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1509432
4 2 N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M W ith the release of its 2023-24 schedule in September, Penn State gained a (mostly) complete picture of what it will be up against in its first season under coach Mike Rhoades. Below are a few initial impressions of the upcoming slate. Nonconference Notes Rhoades and his Penn State staff ar- ranged for some cupcakes in their non- conference home schedule. The neutral- site games help explain why. After an exhibition contest at Robert Morris on Oct. 27, Penn State begins the Rhoades era Nov. 6 with a home game against Delaware State, which last sea- son finished 354th in the NCAA Evalua- tion Tool (NET) rankings. After that con- test come home games against Lehigh (272) Nov. 10, Saint Francis (332) Nov. 14 and Morehead State (219) Nov. 17. The Lions will then head to the ESPN Events Invitational in late November, af- ter which they will return to the Bryce Jordan Center in December for their final nonconference games. First up is Bucknell (292), then Le Moyne, which is making the jump from the Division II Northeast-10 Conference to the Division I Northeast Conference this season. The Lions will face the Dolphins on Dec. 21 before closing out their nonleague slate on Dec. 29 against Rider (217). There will also be a pair of Big Ten games in that stretch, with a visit to Maryland set for Dec. 6 and a date at the BJC against Ohio State three days later. But as far as the nonconference games are concerned, that's about as saccharine as it gets. And with good reason. Penn State has thoroughly rebuilt its roster this year, with 10 new scholarship play- ers having arrived since the summer, and Rhoades' team will benefit from the op- portunity to work out the kinks and jell as a group. The process is going to take MEN'S BASKETBALL THE ROAD AHEAD Penn State's upcoming slate poses big challenges while also affording the new-look Lions an opportunity to grow NAT E BAU E R | N A T E . B A U E R @ O N 3 . C O M Rhoades carries a 373-189 career record into his first season at Penn State. He compiled 129 of those wins in five seasons at Virginia Commonwealth, a team the Nittany Lions could end up facing at the ESPN Events Invitational in November. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL