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Penn State Nittany Lions basketball
Men's basketball team of Penn State University
Men's basketball team of Penn State University
| Field | Value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| name | Penn State Nittany Lions basketball | |||
| current | 2025–26 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team | |||
| logo | Penn State wordmark.svg | |||
| logo_size | 250 | |||
| university | Pennsylvania State University | |||
| conference | Big Ten | |||
| location | University Park, Pennsylvania | |||
| firstseason | 1896–97 | |||
| coach | Mike Rhoades | |||
| tenure | 3rd | |||
| arena | Bryce Jordan Center | |||
| capacity | 15,261 | |||
| nickname | Nittany Lions | |||
| studentsection | Legion of Blue | |||
| h_pattern_b | _thinsidesonwhite | h_body= 091F40 | h_shorts= 091F40 | h_pattern_s=_blanksides2 |
| a_pattern_b | _thinwhitesides | a_body= 091F40 | a_shorts= 091F40 | a_pattern_s=_whitesides |
| bestfinish | 4 | |||
| NCAAfinalfour | 1954 | |||
| NCAAeliteeight | 1942, 1954 | |||
| NCAAsweetsixteen | 1952, 1954, 1955, 2001 | |||
| NCAAtourneys | 1942, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1965, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2011, 2023 | |||
| conference_tournament | 1991 | |||
| division_season | 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.
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
| Assistant Director of Athletic Performance | Greg Miskinis | 2009 | Penn State (2008) |
|---|
Coaching history
| No. | Coach | Years | Seasons | Record | Pct. | Cnf. Record | Pct. | Cnf. Titles | Nat. Titles | NCAA Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | No coach | 1896-97–1914-15, 1917–1918 | 20 | 131–65–1 | 0 | |||||
| 1 | Burke M. "Dutch" Hermann | 1915-16–1917-18, 1919-20–1931–32 | 15 | 148–73 | 0 | |||||
| Interim | Hugo Bezdek | 1918-19 | 1 | 11–2 | 0 | |||||
| 2 | Earl Leslie | 1932-33–1935-36 | 4 | 29–28 | 0–10 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 3 | John Lawther | 1936-37–1948-49 | 13 | 150–93 | 17–13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 4 | Elmer Gross | 1949-50–1953-54 | 5 | 80–40 | 0 | 2 | ||||
| 5 | John Egli | 1954-55–1967-68 | 14 | 187–135 | 0 | 2 | ||||
| 6 | Johnny Bach | 1968-69–1977-78 | 10 | 122–121 | 9–11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 7 | Dick Harter | 1978-79–1982-83 | 5 | 79–61 | 13–11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Bruce Parkhill | 1983-84–1994-95 | 12 | 181–169 | 82–116 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 9 | Jerry Dunn | 1995-96–2002-03 | 8 | 117–121 | 45–87 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 10 | Ed DeChellis | 2003-04–2010-11 | 8 | 114–138 | 41–95 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 11 | Pat Chambers | 2011-12–2019-20 | 9 | 148–150 | 56–110 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Interim | Jim Ferry | 2020-21 | 1 | 11–14 | 7–12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 12 | Micah Shrewsberry | 2021-22–2022-23 | 2 | 37–31 | 17–23 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 13 | Mike Rhoades | 2023-24–Present | 3 | 37–32 | 15–25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 13 | Totals | 1896-97–Present | 130 | 1582–1273–1 | **** | 302–513 | **** | 1 | 0 | 10 |
Postseason
NCAA tournament results
The Nittany Lions have appeared in the NCAA tournament 10 times. Their combined record is 10–11.
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 (CBI) once. Their record is 1–1.
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 | |||
| 2 | Lamar Stevens+ | 2,207 | 2016–2020 | 18 | Brandon Taylor | 1,289 | 2012–2016 | 34 | Steve Kuhn | |||
| 3 | Jesse Arnelle | 2,138 | 1951–1955 | 19 | Calvin Booth | 1,288 | 1995–1999 | 35 | James Barnes | |||
| 4 | Joe Crispin | 1,986 | 1997–2001 | 20 | Seth Lundy | 1,283 | 2019–2023 | 36 | Tony Ward | |||
| 5 | D.J. Newbill | 1,812 | 2012–2015 | 21 | Dan Earl | 1,256 | 1993–1999 | 37 | Mike Edelman | |||
| 6 | Shep Garner | 1,629 | 2014–2018 | 22 | Monroe Brown | 1,244 | 1988–1992 | 38 | Gene Harris | |||
| 7 | Pete Lisicky | 1,605 | 1994–1998 | 23 | Ron Brown | 1,184 | 1972–1974 | 39 | Mike Lang | |||
| 8 | Jamelle Cornley | 1,579 | 2005–2009 | 24 | Mike Watkins | 1,171 | 2016–2020 | 40 | Jeff Miller | |||
| 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 | 12 | Jalen Pickett | 378 | |
| 2 | Freddie Barnes | 600 | 1988–1992 | 13 | Ron Brown | 350 | |
| 3 | Dan Earl | 574 | 1993–1999 | 14 | Tony Ward | 331 | |
| 4 | Talor Battle | 517 | 2007–2011 | 15 | Tony Carr | 325 | |
| T-5 | Joe Crispin | 485 | 1997–2001 | 16 | Shep Garner | 317 | |
| T-5 | Tom Wilkinson | 485 | 1976–1980 | 17 | Josh Reaves | 310 | |
| 7 | Monroe Brown | 450 | 1988–1992 | 18 | Pete Lisicky | 291 | |
| 8 | Titus Ivory | 443 | 1996–2001 | 19 | D.J. Newbill | 288 | |
| 9 | Ben Luber | 418 | 2003–2007 | 20 | Brandon Watkins | 287 | |
| 10 | Ace Baldwin Jr. | 412 | 2023–2025 | 21 | Lamar Stevens | 262 | |
| 11 | Dwight Gibson | 385 | 1991–1995 | 22 |
Rebounds (650+)
| Rank | Player | Rebounds | Years | Rank | Player | Rebounds | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jesse Arnelle | 1,238 | 1951–1955 | 12 | Carvin Jefferson | 713 | |
| 2 | Mike Watkins | 956 | 2016–2020 | 13 | Randy Meister | 712 | |
| 3 | Mike Lang | 912 | 1979–1983 | 14 | Jarrett Stephens | 703 | |
| 4 | Lamar Stevens | 875 | 2016–2020 | 15 | Andrew Jones | 681 | |
| 5 | Ross Travis | 816 | 2011–2015 | 16 | Gyasi Cline-Heard | 672 | |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jesse Arnelle | |||
| Jesse Arnelle | |||
| Jalen Pickett |
NBA players
NBA draft
| Year | Round | Pick | Name | Team |
|---|
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.
- Lamar Stevens
- Andrew Funk
- Izaiah Brockington
- Josh Reaves
- Tim Frazier
- Chris Babb
- John Amaechi
- Joe Crispin
- Tom Hovasse
- Herschel Baltimore
- John Barr
Season by Season Records
Main article: List of Penn State Nittany Lions basketball seasons
Penn State Men's Basketball Radio Affiliates
- WAEB (790 AM) Allentown
- WTNA (1430 AM) Altoona
- WILK-FM (103.1 FM) Avoca
- WNNA (106.1 FM) Beaver Springs
- WRAX (1600 AM) Bedford
- WISR (680 AM) Butler
- WCPA (900 AM) Clearfield
- WQQP (95.9 FM) DuBois
- WPSE (1450 AM) Erie
- WFRA (1450 AM) Franklin
- WGET (1320 AM) Gettysburg
- WHVR (1280 AM) Hanover
- WHGB (1400 AM) Harrisburg
- W237DE (95.3 FM) Harrisburg
- WLMZ (1300 AM) Hazleton
- WRKK (1200 AM) Hughesville
- WDBF-FM (106.3 FM) Huntingdon
- WRKY (1490 AM) Lancaster
- WNPV (1440 AM) Lansdale
- WLBR (1270 AM) Lebanon
- 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
- KQV (1410 AM) Pittsburgh
- WPPA (1360 AM) Pottsville
- WRAW (1340 AM) Reading
- WAAF (910 AM) Scranton
- WLEJ (1450 AM) State College
- WKOK (1070 AM) Sunbury
- WTIV (1230 AM) Titusville
- WTZN (1310 AM) Troy
- WTRN (1340 AM) Tyrone
- W264BZ (100.7 FM) Tyrone
- WICU (1310 AM) Warren
- WNBT-FM (104.5 FM) Wellsboro
- WILK (980 AM) Wilkes-Barre
- WRAK (1400 AM) Williamsport
- WSBA (910 AM) York
References
References
- "2022-23 Penn State Men's Basketball Media Guide (PDF)".
- http://www.gopsusports.com/ot/nl-update-affiliates.html 2011-2012 PSU Network Affiliates - Men's Basketball
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