Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1526526
4 2 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State is ready for its follow- up. In late August, the first part of the Nittany Lions' second season under coach Mike Rhoades began ma- terializing with the announcement of the team's full 2024-25 nonconference schedule. Tip times and television arrangements have yet to be set for many of the match- ups, but the Nittany Lions will take on 11 opponents. The slate includes the Sun- shine Slam during Thanksgiving week in Daytona Beach, Fla., in which the Lions will face Fordham (Nov. 25) and either Clemson or San Francisco (Nov. 26). There will be seven nonconference games at the Bryce Jordan Center this season, including the Nov. 4 opener against Binghamton. Other highlights of the home sched- ule include the return of former interim Penn State coach Jim Ferry, who will lead the University of Maryland Balti- more County to the BJC on Nov. 8. In addition, Penn State will welcome Saint Francis on Nov. 12 and a good Purdue Fort Wayne team on Nov. 20. The home contest against PFW is the first game of the Sunshine Slam tourney, preceding the Lions' trip to Florida. Neutral-site matchups include a Nov. 15 trip to CFG Bank Arena in downtown Baltimore, where the Lions will face Vir- ginia Tech. That game will be part of a Hall of Fame Classic doubleheader that also includes a clash between Virginia and Villanova. The game against the Hokies will mark a return to senior point guard Ace Baldwin Jr.'s hometown, and the Nittany Lions' city outreach doesn't end there. They will also be back in Philadelphia — though not at The Palestra this time — for a Dec. 21 date with Drexel. That game will be played at Wells Fargo Center and will be considered a true away game — the only one on the 2024-25 nonconfer- ence slate. Looking to take his team on the road to be where its fans are, Rhoades sees the games as the fulfillment of a pledge he made when he accepted Penn State's head coaching post in March 2023. "When I took the job, I think I used the term 'out-of-the-box thinking ' with our program. I want to do that," Rhoades said. "In our first year, we got in the [Madison Square] Garden. We want to always play down here in the Philly area if we can. I think there are other places in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic region where we can play and go to our fans. I think it's a lot of fun. "I want to play in Hershey, the Lehigh Valley. I'll go play out in Pittsburgh. Getting to New York and maybe even down to D.C., I think would be cool. We have the biggest alumni network in the world. That's really cool. Let's use that. Let's think out of the box and say, 'How can we go to them?'" MEN'S BASKETBALL Nittany Lions' 2024-25 Schedule Takes Shape NAT E BAU E R | N AT E . B A U E R @ O N 3 . C O M The Nittany Lions have made four trips in recent seasons to The Palestra in Philadelphia, including a game against top-ranked Purdue in January 2023. Penn State is reportedly set to return to Philadelphia for a Big Ten game against Indiana in January. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS