Tag: The Palestra

Penn State will bring Big Ten basketball back to The Palestra this season

Penn State basketball is reportedly heading back to The Cathedral of College Basketball this season.

It is seemingly becoming a bit of a tradition for Penn State to transport one of its home basketball contests in Big Ten play and taking it to one of the most historic venues in the sport. According to one report from a national college basketball insider on Thursday, it appears that trend will continue this upcoming college basketball season.

According to a report from Jon Rothstein, via College Hoops Today, Penn State and Indiana will tip off at The Palestra in Philadelphia on January 5, 2025. The game will count as one of Penn State’s home games, but that is a trade Penn State will make every year.

Penn State has hosted four previous Big Ten games in The Palestra over the years, including Michigan this past season. Penn State is 3-1 in its four Big Ten contests in The Palestra (wins vs. Michigan in 2024, Iowa in 2020, and Michigan State in 2017; lost to no. 1 Purdue in 2023).

This will actually be the second game Penn State will play in Philadelphia next season. The Nittany Lions will also face Drexel at the Wells Fargo Center on December 21. Coincidentally, Penn State will also be playing the Penn Quakers, the team that calls The Palestra home, this season. However, Penn State will host Penn in non-conference action rather than play as a road team in the storied venue. Penn State will host Penn on December 29, a little more than a week after facing Drexel in the Wells Fargo Center and a week before visiting Penn’s home for the Indiana game.

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Photos from Penn State’s big win against Michigan at The Palestra

Check out the best photos from Penn State’s basketball victory over Michigan in The Palestra in Philadelphia.

Things were not looking great for Penn State early on against Michigan in The Palestra in Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon, but a big second-half surge by the Nittany Lions led to an exciting victory in front of a sold-out crowd in the City of Brotherly Love. Down by as many as 14 points, Penn State rallied for a 79-74 victory over the Wolverines, bringing a happy close to what has been a chaotic few days for Penn State on the road.

Penn State flew straight to Philadelphia from Michigan due to plane issues following Thursday night’s road game at Michigan State, which was a tough way to follow up a blowout loss to the Spartans. But a weekend ending with a victory in one of college basketball’s storied venues and doing so against a conference opponent is pretty encouraging.

Ace Baldwin Jr. helped lead the way to a victory with 25 points. After a slow start in the first half, Kanye Clary came alive in the second half and ended the game with 18 points.

Penn State improved to 8-7 this season and 2-2 in Big Ten play. Penn State’s next game will be a more traditional home game against Northwestern on Wednesday evening in the Bryce Jordan Center.

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State’s basketball victory over Michigan in The Palestra.

Penn State basketball had quite the travel nightmare getting to Philly

Plane issues force Penn State men’s baksetball to make adjustments to travel schedule getting to Philadelphia.

As if getting blown out on the road at Michigan State on Thursday night was not enough to get over, the Penn State men’s basketball team had to stay in East Lansing a little longer than it desired. And that led to skipping a return home before traveling to Philadelphia for Sunday afternoon’s contest against Michigan in The Palestra.

Issues with Penn State’s plane forced the Nittany Lions to stay grounded in Michigan following Thursday night’s loss to the Spartans. So instead of getting in one more practice at home, Penn State organized a practice session in Michigan and flew directly to Philadelphia on Friday night.

“It’s only a problem if you make excuses about it and say it’s a problem, so this is what happens,” Penn State head coach Mike Rhoades said in a Zoom call with the media, per Lions247. “We’re eating good meals, the food’s hot. We’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.”

So the Nittany Lions missed at least one night in their own beds. No matter what happens on Sunday afternoon against the Wolverines in the iconic venue in Philadelphia, it will sure be nice to get home Sunday.

Penn State plays Michigan at 12:00 p.m. ET from The Palestra in Philadelphia. The game can be seen on Big Ten Network.

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Penn State looks to make Palestra history vs. No. 1 Purdue

No. 1 teams from outside Philly visiting the Palestra are 7-1 all-time. Will Penn State buck that trend vs. Purdue?

For the first time in Philadelphia sports history on Sunday, Penn State will play host to the AP No. 1 team in college basketball. Penn State will play top-ranked Purdue in the iconic Palestra, which is the regular home to the Ivy League’s Penn Quakers and as storied a venue in the sport as any. But for the first time since 2007, the Palestra will welcome the nation’s top-ranked team in the AP poll, and it will be the first time Penn State has played on the opposite side.

Penn State has adopted the Palestra as its home game for one game whenever it can do so as a way to bring the program to the lucrative Philadelphia area for recruiting purposes. It has played in the Palestra a number of times over the years against teams from the city of Philadelphia, but it has called the Palestra home for a few Big Ten games in more recent years. This may be the biggest one yet as Penn State faces the No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers.

Sports statistics expert and historian Bob Vetrone shared the comprehensive list of every college basketball matchup in the city of Philadelphia where the nation’s top-ranked team visited Philadelphia for a regular season game, dating back to 1953.

The last time the nation’s top-ranked team visited the Palestra was when North Carolina brought its No. 1 ranking to the venue to obliterate the Penn Quakers. Before that, the last No. 1 team to visit the Palestra was Loyola Chicago for three consecutive games in a late-December tournament against Georgetown, Northwestern, and Temple in 1963. Loyola Chicago lost its first game against Georgetown but won the following two games against Northwestern and Temple.

Since 1953, the AP no. 1 team is 7-1 when visiting the Palestra, not including any games played by a Philadelphia school when ranked No. 1. It’s been roughly 60 years since the last time a No. 1 team went down in the Palestra. Can Penn State make some more history on Sunday evening in Philly?

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Penn State basketball photos: Penn State’s 2020 trip to he Palestra

Take a look back at these awesome photos from Penn State’s 2020 game at the Palestra vs. Iowa.

Penn State knows how important it is to play a “home” basketball game in Philadelphia whenever it has the opportunity, and they certainly took advantage of it in early 2020. The Palestra doesn’t host too many top 25 showdowns these days, but No. 21 Penn State and No. 23 Iowa brought two top 25 teams to the historic court with some good star power with Iowa’s Lou Garza and Penn State’s Lamar Stevens leading the way.

Penn State’s win against Iowa in early 2020 seemed to keep the Nittany Lions on track for a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but those hopes were dashed with the entire tournament being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s early impact on the entire sports calendar. But at least Penn State got one signature memory before the season was thrown into total chaos.

Here is a look back at Penn State’s 2020 game in The Palestra against the Iowa Hawkeyes.