The Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team is an

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

team representing

the Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...

. They are a member of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

and 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 program has nine NCAA tournament appearances with its best finish coming in 1954, reaching the Final Four. Its most recent appearance was in 2011, when the team lost to the

Temple Owls The Temple Owls are the athletic teams that represent Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The current athletic director is Arthur Johnson. The owl has been the symbol and mascot for Temple University since its founding in the 1 ...

in the round of 64. The program also has 11 appearances in the National Invitation Tournament, with the most recent being in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

, when they beat

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

to win the NIT championship. They also won the NIT championship in 2009.

Current coaching staff

Coaching history

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Nittany Lions have appeared in the NCAA tournament nine times. Their combined record is 9–11.

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.

CBI results

The Nittany Lions have appeared in the

College Basketball Invitational The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. The inaugural tournament occurred after the conclusion of the 2007–08 men's college basketball regular season. The CBI s ...

(CBI) once. Their record is 1–1.

Statistical Leaders

Points

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

Assists

Rebounds

NBA players

NBA Draft

Other 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.

* Lamar Stevens * Josh Reaves * Tim Frazier * Chris Babb * John Amaechi * Joe Crispin * Tom Hovasse * Herschel Baltimore * John Barr

International players

* Chris Babb (born 1990), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League * Trey Lewis (born 1992), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League * Mike Watkins (born 1995), basketball player for

Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Haifa Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל חיפה, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Haifa'') is an Israeli football club located in the city of Haifa. The club won one championship (1998–99) and 4 Israeli cups (1 ...

in the Israeli Basketball Premier League

Season by Season Records

Overcoming historical irrelevance

At a school where the football program captures the vast majority of media and fan interest, the basketball program has historically struggled to draw fans and administrative support. Penn State is consistently ranked near the bottom of the Big Ten in attendance and revenue, which has been attributed to local apathy and noncompetitive teams. The Bryce Jordan Center has far more seats than can regularly be filled, and large, black curtains cover parts of the upper deck during most non-conference and weekday games. Penn State has come close to breaking through on several occasions in the 21st century, only to fall back to mediocrity. They reached the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in over 50 years in 2001 after upsetting #2

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

in the Round of 32, only to fall to a 3–13 record in the Big Ten the next year. The 2008-09 and 2017-18 teams won the NIT, but did not reach the tournament the next year. Penn State hoops reached new levels of popularity during the 2019–20 season after fielding a team that peaked at #9 in the Associated Press (AP) poll. The team hosted its first sellout since 2011 in a February showdown against

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, a contest they would win 83–77, extending a mid-season win streak that would eventually reach eight games.

Students rallied around the idea of Penn State as a "basketball school," and players such as seniors Lamar Stevens and Mike Watkins became household names across campus, even among non-basketball fans. In what was referred to as "the most Penn State basketball thing ever" by fans on social media, the season was cancelled prior to the start of the Big Ten Tournament due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Stevens finished only seven points from becoming Penn State's all-time leading scorer, a feat that would almost certainly have been reached had the season not been cut short. Though an NCAA tournament bracket was never officially revealed, head coach Pat Chambers announced that the 2019-20 team would be included on the team banner of tournament appearances.

Penn State Men's Basketball Radio Affiliates

http://www.gopsusports.com/ot/nl-update-affiliates.html 2011-2012 PSU Network Affiliates - Men's Basketball * WAEB (790 AM)

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* WTNA (1430 AM) Altoona * WILK-FM (103.1 FM) Avoca * WNNA (106.1 FM) Beaver Springs * WRAX (1600 AM)

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* WISR (680 AM) Butler * WCPA (900 AM) Clearfield * WQQP (95.9 FM) DuBois * WPSE (1450 AM)

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

* WFRA (1450 AM) Franklin *

WGET GNU Wget (or just Wget, formerly Geturl, also written as its package name, wget) is a computer program that retrieves content from web servers. It is part of the GNU Project. Its name derives from "World Wide Web" and " ''get''." It supports do ...

(1320 AM) Gettysburg * WHVR (1280 AM)

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

* WHGB (1400 AM) Harrisburg * W237DE (95.3 FM) Harrisburg * WODS (1300 AM)

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WRKK WRKK (1200 AM) – branded as Rock 94.9 – is a commercial active rock radio station licensed to Hughesville, Pennsylvania, serving the Williamsport metro area. Owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., WRKK is the local affiliate for '' Rover's M ...

(1200 AM) Hughesville * WDBF-FM (106.3 FM) Huntingdon * WRKY (1490 AM) Lancaster * WNPV (1440 AM)

Lansdale Lansdale is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a densely-populated commuter town, with many residents traveling daily to Philadelphia using SEPTA Regional Rai ...

* WLBR (1270 AM)

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

* WIBF (92.5 FM) Lewistown * WOGA (92.3 FM) Mansfield * WMGW (1490 AM) Meadville * WUZZ (1280 AM) New Castle * WVNJ (1160 AM) New York City, NY * WNTP (990 AM)

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

* KQV (1410 AM)

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

* WPPA (1360 AM) Pottsville * WRAW (1340 AM) Reading * WAAF (910 AM)

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* WQWK (1450 AM) State College * WKOK (1070 AM) Sunbury * WTIV (1230 AM) Titusville * WTZN (1310 AM)

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

* WTRN (1340 AM) Tyrone * W264BZ (100.7 FM) Tyrone * WICU (1310 AM) Warren * WNBT-FM (104.5 FM) Wellsboro * WILK (980 AM)

Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the s ...

* WRAK (1400 AM) Williamsport * WSBA (910 AM)

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

References

External links

* {{Big Ten Conference men's basketball navbox