Nittany Lions Square Off Against Michigan Wednesday Night in Big Ten Tournament - Penn State Athletics (2024)

MINNEAPOLIS – The Penn State men's basketball team begins postseason play Wednesday night when the 11th-seeded Nittany Lions face 14th-seeded Michigan in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Tipoff from the Target Center in Minneapolis is slated for approximately 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on Peaco*ck.

FOLLOW ALONG

• TV: Peaco*ck – Noah Eagle (pxp), Robbie Hummel (analyst) & Zora Stephenson (sideline)
• RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
• NATIONAL RADIO: SiriusXM Ch. 84 & SXM App. Ch. 84
• BIG TEN TOURNAMENT: Tournament Central | Bracket
• LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast | Live Stats
• GAME NOTES: Penn State | Michigan

OPENING TIPS

• The 2024 postseason begins Wednesday when the 11th-seeded Nittany Lions take on 14th-seeded Michigan in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament.
• Penn State finished the regular season at 9-11 in conference play. Penn State's nine conference wins marks just the eighth time in the Nittany Lions' 32-year history in the conference that Penn State has collected nine or more regular-season Big Ten wins.
• Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Ace Baldwin Jr. leads the Nittany Lions with 14.3 points, a team-best 6.0 assists and a Big Ten-best 2.71 steals per game.

IF PENN STATE BEATS MICHIGAN

• Penn State would advance to the second round of the Big Ten Tournament to face sixth-seeded Indiana Thursday night at approximately 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT.
• The Nittany Lions would win a Big Ten Tournament game for the fourth-straight year.

SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES

• The Wolverines enter the Big Ten Tournament having lost their last eight games. Michigan finished the regular season at 8-23 overall and 3-17 in conference play.
• Dug McDaniel leads Michigan with 16.6 points per game. Olivier Nkamhoua follows with 14.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, while Terrance Williams II chips in 12.3 points per contest.

AGAINST MICHIGAN

• Penn State and Michigan meet in the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2013. The Nittany Lions are 2-1 all-time vs. the Wolverines in the conference tournament. Michigan won the most recent tournament matchup in 2013 (83-66), but Penn State claimed the first two in 2001 (82-80) and 2000 (76-66).
• The Nittany Lions and Wolverines met just once this season, a 79-73 Nittany Lion win on Jan. 7 at The Palestra in Philadelphia. Michigan led by as much as 14 with 3:15 left to play in the first half, but Penn State used a 19-5 second-half run to erase the Wolverine lead.Junior D'Marco Dunn sparked the streak with eight-straight points, and his triple with 11:36 to play gave Penn State its first lead of the game, a lead the Nittany Lions wouldn't relinquish. Ace Baldwin Jr. paced the Nittany Lions with 25 points on eight-for-13 shooting, four assists, two rebounds, three steals, and a block.

TOURNEY TIME

• March is here and Penn State opens up postseason play in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament Wednesday night against Michigan.
• Penn State finished tied for ninth in the Big Ten standings, but will play as the No. 11 seed in the conference tournament per tiebreakers.
• A win on Wednesday would advance Penn State to Thursday's second round where the Nittany Lions would face sixth-seeded Indiana at approximately 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT. The winner of Thursday's second round game advances to Friday's quarterfinals to face No. 3 seed Nebraska at approximately 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT.
• Penn State looks to win a game at the Big Ten Tournament for the sixth time in the last seven completed tournaments (not including 2020 which was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic). The Nittany Lions advanced all the way to the Big Ten Tournament championship game a season ago as the No. 10 seed. Penn State has never won a Big Ten Tournament championship.
• Michigan and Penn State have met three times in Big Ten Tournament history, with Penn State owning a 2-1 advantage. The two teams last met in the conference tournament in 2013.

ON THE RIGHT RHOADES

• First-year head coach Mike Rhoades inherited a Penn State team that returned just 5.0% of its scoring production from a 2022-23 season that saw the Nittany Lions advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Notable accomplishments so far in Rhoades' first year at the helm include:
  • Nine Big Ten wins are the second-most by a first-year head coach in program history.
  • Owns two wins over top-15 ranked teams (#12 Illinois & #11 Wisconsin). Win over #11 Wisconsin is the highest-ranked win under a first-year head coach in program history.
  • Earned regular-season sweep of Indiana for just the second time in program history and the first time since 2009. Defeated Indiana at Assembly Hall for the first time under a first-year head coach in program history and the first time overall since 2014.
  • Won consecutive Big Ten road games (at Rutgers & at Indiana) by 12-plus points for the first time in program history.
  • On track to have the highest-scoring offense under a first-year head coach at Penn State since 1954-55.
  • Signed top-40 recruiting class in the country.

80+

• Penn State has scored 80 or more points 11 times this season, eight of which come in Big Ten play. Penn State's eight 80+ point efforts in Big Ten play are the most in school history.

FIRST YEAR OFFENSE

• Penn State enters the Big Ten Tournament averaging 75.9 points per game in Mike Rhoades' debut season. That mark is on track to be Penn State's best offensive output since the 2000-01 team averaged 76.8 points per game en route to a Sweet 16 appearance.
• It is also on pace to be Penn State's best offensive output under a first-year head coach since 1954-55 when the Nittany Lions put up 78.7 ppg under John Egli.
• Penn State's 75.2 points per Big Ten game is the second-highest in Penn State's 32 seasons in the Big Ten, behind only the 2000-01 PSU team's 75.4 points per Big Ten game.

BIG TEN AWARDS HAUL

• Penn State men's basketball senior point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. has been named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year to highlight a postseason awards haul for the Nittany Lions. Baldwin Jr. also earned third team All-Big Ten honors (coaches & media), while Qudus Wahab, Nick Kern Jr. and Zach Hicks earned honorable mention All-Big Ten accolades from the conference coaches. Puff Johnson was named Penn State's recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

B1G DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watchlist honoree Ace Baldwin Jr. was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Tuesday:
  • Leads the Big Ten and ranks fourth in the country in steals (84) and fifth in the country in steals per game (2.71). His 2.71 steals per game rank second amongst Power Six conference players.
  • His 2.71 steals per game overall tracks to be the most by a Big Ten player in a single season in the last 31 years (since 1993 - Pat Baldwin (Northwestern) 2.96 steals per game).
  • His 2.70 steals per Big Ten game are the most by a Big Ten player in a single season in the last 10 years (since 2014 - Aaron Craft (Ohio State) 2.72 steals per Big Ten game).
  • Leader of a Penn State defense that leads the Big Ten in steals and ranks second in turnovers forced per game and turnover margin.
  • One of 15 players in the country named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watchlist in February.

GOT AN ACE UP OUR SLEEVE

• Ace Baldwin Jr. is averaging 14.3 points per game, a team-best 6.0 assists per contest and a Big Ten-best 2.71 steals per game.
• Should he finish the season averaging 14.0+ points per game, 6+ assists per game and 2+ steals per game, Baldwin Jr. would be one of just four Big Ten players to do so since 1992-93 (31 years) and the first since former Nittany Lion standout Tim Frazier did so in 2011-12:
  • 2023-24: Ace Baldwin Jr. (PSU) - 14.3/6.0/2.71
  • 2011-12: Tim Frazier (PSU) - 18.8/6.2/2.4
  • 1997-98: Mateen Cleaves (MSU) - 16.1/7.2/2.4
  • 1992-93: Tracy Webster (WIS) - 14.1/6.4/2.4
• Baldwin Jr. is the ONLY active Division I player with 1,000+ career points (1,271), 600+ career assists (606) and 250+ career steals (267). His 267 career steals rank second amongst active Division I players, while his 606 assists rank 17th.

BIG Q

• Honorable mention All-Big Ten (coaches) selection Qudus Wahab is having the most efficient season of his five-year collegiate career, shooting a career-best 62.8 percent (120-191) from the field.
• He owns career marks of 1,335 points and 977 rebounds. His 977 rebounds rank 17th amongst active Division I players and he is one of just 31 active Division I players with upwards of 1,000 career points and 900 career rebounds.

EFFICIENCY UP

• Honorable mention All-Big Ten (coaches) selection Nick Kern Jr. was one of Penn State's most productive players in conference play, averaging 10.3 points per Big Ten game while shooting 58.0 percent from the field.

HICKS HEATING UP

• Honorable mention All-Big Ten (coaches) honoree Zach Hicks has turned it up a notch as of late, scoring in double figures in seven of the last 10 games. He is averaging 11.5 ppg while shooting 38.7 percent from 3-point range over the last 10 games, compared to his marks of 6.2 ppg and 29.3 3FG% over the first 21 games of the season.

UP NEXT

• The winner of Wednesday's night's first-round matchup advances to face sixth-seeded Indiana Thursday in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. Tipoff is slated for approximately 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.

The 2023-24 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.