Penn State Nittany Lions basketball

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Penn State Nittany Lions
2024–25 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team
UniversityPennsylvania State University
First season1896–97
Head coachMike Rhoades (2nd Season)
ConferenceBig Ten
LocationUniversity Park, Pennsylvania
ArenaBryce Jordan Center
(capacity: 15,261)
NicknameNittany Lions
Student sectionLegion of Blue
ColorsBlue and white[1]
   
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away


NCAA tournament Final Four
1954
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1942, 1954
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1952, 1954, 1955, 2001
NCAA tournament round of 32
1991, 2001, 2023
NCAA tournament appearances
1942, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1965, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2011, 2023
Conference tournament champions
Atlantic 10: 1991
Conference division season champions
Eastern Collegiate League West: 1977

The Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team representing the Pennsylvania State University. They play home games at the 15,261-seat Bryce Jordan Center, moving there from Rec Hall during the 1995–96 season. Their student cheering section is known as the Legion of Blue.

The team played its first season of basketball in 1897, finishing with a 1-1 record after playing Bucknell twice. They lost the first game 4-24, and won the second 10-7. The team went without a formal head coach until Burke Hermann in 1916.[2]

The program has ten NCAA tournament appearances with its best finish coming in 1954, reaching the Final Four. Its most recent appearance was in 2023, when the team beat Texas A&M in the first round. The program also has 11 appearances in the National Invitation Tournament, with the most recent being in 2018, when they beat Utah to win the NIT championship. They also won the NIT championship in 2009.

Current coaching staff

Position Name Year Alma mater
Head Coach Mike Rhoades 2023 Lebanon Valley (1995)
Associate Head Coach Jamal Brunt 2023 Randolph-Macon College (2003)
Assistant Coach Brent Scott 2023 Rice University (1993)
Assistant Coach Jimmy Martelli 2023 Dickinson College (2005)
Assistant to the Head Coach Joe Crispin 2023 Penn State (2001)
Director of Recruiting Brandon Rozzell 2023 Virginia Commonwealth University (2011)
Associate Director of Athletic Training Services Jon Salazer 2001 Penn State (1993)
Assistant Director of Athletic Performance Greg Miskinis 2009 Penn State (2008)

Coaching history

Coach Years Seasons Record Pct. Cnf. Record Pct. Cnf. Titles Nat. Titles NCAA Appearances
No coach 1897–1915, 1917–1918 20 131–65–1 .668 0
Burke M. "Dutch" Hermann 1916–1918, 1919–32 15 148–73 .716 0
Hugo Bezdek 1919 1 11–2 .846 0
Earl Leslie 1933–36 4 29–28 .509 0–10 .000 0 0
John Lawther 1937–49 13 150–93 .617 17–13 .567 0 0 1
Elmer Gross 1949–54 5 80–40 .667 0 2
John Egli 1954–68 14 187–135 .581 0 2
Johnny Bach 1968–78 10 122–121 .502 9–11 .450 0 0 0
Dick Harter 1978–83 5 79–61 .564 13–11 .564 0 0 0
Bruce Parkhill 1983–95 12 181–169 .517 82–116 .414 1 0 1
Jerry Dunn 1995–2003 8 117–121 .492 45–87 .341 0 0 2
Ed DeChellis 2003–2011 8 114–138 .452 41–95 .301 0 0 1
Pat Chambers 2011–2020 9 148–150 .497 56–110 .337 0 0 0
Jim Ferry 2020–2021 1 11–14 .440 7–12 .368 0 0 0
Micah Shrewsberry 2021–2023 2 37–31 .544 17–23 .425 0 0 1
Mike Rhoades 2023–Present 1 15–16 .484 9–11 .450 0 0 0
Totals 1897–present 125 1560–1257–1 .555 296–499 .372 1 0 10

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Nittany Lions have appeared in the NCAA tournament 10 times. Their combined record is 10–11.

Year Seed Round Opponent Result
1942 Elite Eight
Regional 3rd Place Game
Dartmouth
Illinois
L 39–44
W 41–34
1952 Sweet Sixteen
Regional 3rd Place Game
Kentucky
NC State
L 54–82
L 60–69
1954 First Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
National 3rd Place Game
Toledo
LSU
Notre Dame
La Salle
USC
W 62–50
W 78–70
W 71–63
L 54–69
W 70–61
1955 First Round
Sweet Sixteen
Regional 3rd Place Game
Memphis State
Iowa
Kentucky
W 59–55
L 53–82
L 59–84
1965 First Round Princeton L 58–60
1991 #13 First Round
Second Round
#4 UCLA
#12 Eastern Michigan
W 74–69
L 68–71 OT
1996 #5 First Round #12 Arkansas L 80–86
2001 #7 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#10 Providence
#2 North Carolina
#11 Temple
W 69–59
W 82–74
L 72–84
2011 #10 First Round #7 Temple L 64–66
2023 #10 First Round
Second Round
#7 Texas A&M
#2 Texas
W 76–59
L 66–71

NIT results

The Nittany Lions have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 11 times. Their combined record is 27–9. They were NIT champions in 2009 and 2018.

Year Round Opponent Result
1966 First Round San Francisco L 77–89
1980 First Round Alabama L 49–53
1989 First Round
Second Round
Murray State
Villanova
W 89–73
L 67–76
1990 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
3rd Place Game
Marquette
Maryland
Rutgers
Vanderbilt
New Mexico
W 57–54
W 80–78
W 58–55
L 62–75
W 83–81
1992 First Round Pittsburgh L 65–67
1995 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
3rd Place Game
Miami (FL)
Nebraska
Iowa
Marquette
Canisius
W 62–56
W 65–59
W 67–64
L 79–81
W 66–62
1998 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals
Rider
Dayton
Georgia Tech
Georgia
Minnesota
W 82–68
W 77–74
W 77–70
W 66–60
L 72–79
2000 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
3rd Place Game
Princeton
Siena
Kent State
Notre Dame
NC State
W 55–41
W 105–103
W 81–74
L 52–73
W 74–72
2006 Opening Round Rutgers L 71–76
2009 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals
George Mason
Rhode Island
Florida
Notre Dame
Baylor
W 77–73 OT
W 83–72
W 71–62
W 67–59
W 69–63
2018 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals
Temple
Notre Dame
Marquette
Mississippi State
Utah
W 63–57
W 73–63
W 85–80
W 75–60
W 82–66

CBI results

The Nittany Lions have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) once. Their record is 1–1.

Year Round Opponent Result
2014 First Round
Quarterfinals
Hampton
Siena
W 69–65
L 52–54

Statistical Leaders

1,000 Point Scorers

Rank Player Points Years Rank Player Points Years Rank Player Points Years
1 Talor Battle 2,213 2007-2011 17 John Amaechi 1,310 1992-1995 33 Gyasi Cline-Heard 1,058 1997-2001
2 Lamar Stevens+ 2,207 2016-2020 18 Brandon Taylor 1,289 2012-2016 34 Steve Kuhn 1,057 1976-1980
3 Jesse Arnelle 2,138 1951-1955 19 Calvin Booth 1,288 1995-1999 35 James Barnes 1,025 1987-1991
4 Joe Crispin 1,986 1997-2001 20 Seth Lundy 1,283 2019-2023 36 Tony Ward 1,020 1984-1988
5 D.J. Newbill 1,812 2012-2015 21 Dan Earl 1,256 1993-1999 37 Mike Edelman 1,019 1978-1982
6 Shep Garner 1,629 2014-2018 22 Monroe Brown 1,244 1988-1992 38 Gene Harris 1,018 1959-1962
7 Pete Lisicky 1,605 1994-1998 23 Ron Brown 1,184 1972-1974 39 Mike Lang 1,014 1979-1983
8 Jamelle Cornley 1,579 2005-2009 24 Mike Watkins 1,171 2016-2020 40 Jeff Miller 1,008 1974-1978
9 DeRon Hayes 1,570 1989-1993 25 Carver Clinton 1,165 1963-1966
10 Tim Frazier 1,543 2009-2014 26 Tony Carr 1,161 2016-2018
11 Geary Claxton 1,542 2004-2008 27 Mark DuMars 1,139 1958-1961
12 Tom Hovasse 1,459 1985-1989 28 Myles Dread 1,097 2018-2023
13 Jarrett Stephens 1,372 1995-2000 29 Bob Weiss 1,091 1962-1965
14 Titus Ivory 1,369 1996-2001 30 Jeff Persson 1,090 1965-1968
15 Freddie Barnes 1,342 1988-1992 31 Josh Reaves 1,079 2015-2019
16 Ed Fogell 1,329 1985-1990 32 Jalen Pickett 1,068 2021-2023

+ 2020 B1G Tournament and 2020 NCAA Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic.

** denotes active player.

Assists

Rank Player Assists Years Rank Player Assists Years
1 Tim Frazier 641 2009-2014 11 Jalen Pickett 378 2021–2023
2 Freddie Barnes 600 1988-1992 12 Ron Brown 350 1972-1974
3 Dan Earl 574 1993-1999 13 Tony Ward 331 1984-1988
4 Talor Battle 517 2007-2011 14 Tony Carr 325 2016-2018
5 Joe Crispin 485 1997-2001 15 Shep Garner 317 2014-2018
Tom Wilkinson 485 1976-1980 16 Josh Reaves 310 2015–2019
7 Monroe Brown 450 1988-1992 17 Pete Lisicky 291 1994-1998
8 Titus Ivory 443 1996-2001 18 D.J. Newbill 288 2012-2015
9 Ben Luber 418 2003-2007 19 Brandon Watkins 287 1999-2003
10 Dwight Gibson 385 1991-1995 20 Lamar Stevens 262 2016-2020

Rebounds (650+)

Rank Player Rebounds Years Rank Player Rebounds Years
1 Jesse Arnelle 1,238 1951-1955 12 Carvin Jefferson 713 1975-1979
2 Mike Watkins 956 2016–2020 13 Randy Meister 712 1972-1975
3 Mike Lang 912 1979-1983 14 Jarrett Stephens 703 1995-2000
4 Lamar Stevens 875 2016-2020 15 Andrew Jones 681 2007-2011
5 Ross Travis 816 2011-2015 16 Gyasi Cline-Heard 672 1997-2001
6 Gene Harris 762 1959-1962
7 Geary Claxton 755 2004-2008
Jamelle Cornley 755 2005-2009
9 John Amaechi 745 1992-1995
10 Carver Clinton 734 1963-1966
11 Calvin Booth 728 1995-1999

All-Americans

Year Team Name Outlet
1954
1st Team
Jesse Arnelle
Helms Foundation
1955
2nd Team
Jesse Arnelle
Helms Foundation
2nd Team
Jalen Pickett

NBA players

NBA draft

Tony Carr
Year Round Pick Name Team
1947
3
10
John Rusinko
1953
7
2
Herman Sledzik
1955
2
13
1965
3
22
1966
11
6
Carver Clinton
1974
7
17
Ron Brown
1981
3
57
1983
8
12
Mike Lang
1984
10
211
1994
10
211
1999
2
35
2018
2
51
2023
2
32
2023
2
46

Other NBA players

The following is a list of undrafted Penn State players who have played at least one NBA regular or post-season game. Bold denotes players with active NBA or NBA G League contracts.

Chris Babb

Season by Season Records

Penn State Men's Basketball Radio Affiliates

[3]

References

  1. ^ "Design Essentials". Brand.PSU.edu. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  2. ^ "2022-23 Penn State Men's Basketball Media Guide (PDF)" (PDF). Penn State Athletics. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  3. ^ http://www.gopsusports.com/ot/nl-update-affiliates.html 2011-2012 PSU Network Affiliates - Men's Basketball