Game two of Penn State men’s 2024-25 basketball season tips off tonight as the Nittany Lions host the Retrievers of UMBC in the Bryce Jordan Center.
Both teams enter the matchup at 1-0, with the Nittany Lions dismantling Binghamton 108-66 and the Retrievers taking care of division II Penn State York 95-66.
Penn State is looking to improve on their 16-17 record from a year ago. New transfer portal additions Freddie Dilione V and Yanic Konan Niederhauser made impactful contributions in their first game with the Nittany Lions, while preseason All-Conference guard Ace Baldwin looked better than ever. Games such as this one against UMBC will be important for getting the new additions to gel with last year’s squad.
On the other end of the court, UMBC is hoping to get back on track this season. They finished with an 11-21 record last year, going 0-2 against power five opponents. This comes just a few years after their historic upset of the University of Virginia, in which they became the first 16 seed to ever advance to the round of 32 in the NCAA tournament.
How to Watch: Penn State vs UMBC:
WHEN: Friday, November 8,
WHERE: Bryce Jordan Center
TELEVISION: Big Ten Network – Wayne Randazzo (pxp) & Myles Dread (analyst)
RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
SIRIUS: 372
STATS: StatBroadcast
Series History
This will be the fifth matchup between the Penn State Nittany Lions and UMBC Retrievers. Penn State has won the previous four, the most recent by a score of 74-52 in December of 2018.
ODDS
Penn State is a 22.5-point favorite, the over/under is curerntly set at 163.5. UMBC is notably 20-18 against the spread since 2021 against non-conference opponents.
STAT COMPARISON
What to Know - UMBC:
Led by Former Penn State interim head coach Jim Ferry, UMBC will look to bounce back this season from a 11-21 record a year ago and a 6-10 record in AEC conference play. The Retrievers were picked to finish fifth in AEC play this season in their preseason poll, one spot ahead of Penn State's season opening opponent Binghamton.
UMBC is projected to be led on the court this season by senior guard Marcus Banks Jr who averaged 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game last season while earning third-team All-Conference honors. In his second season with UMBC, Banks had a big game against Penn State - York in their season opener scoring 27 points while also recording four rebounds and two assists.
Banks will look to leave the hole left by Dion Brown who left UMBC for Boston College this offseason. Overall, UMBC lost three of their top five scorers from a season ago as forward Khydarius Smith (11.9 points) exhausted his eligibility while guard Fank Emmon (7.1) transferred to Texas State.
In their win over Division II York earlier this week, the Retrievers showed they do have a few potential options to step up including 6-foot-7 freshman forward Tim Eze who had 14 points and six rebounds in the win. Sophomore forward Daylon Dickerson had 13 points and five rebounds of his own while junior guard Marlon Short recorded 12 points and five rebounds.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS:
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