First Look at Penn State's 2026-27 Big Ten Men's Basketball Schedule

Penn State men's basketball had a disastrous Big Ten season, winning just three games and losing in the first round of the conference tournament as the last seed. The Nittany Lions seek to position themselves for an upgrade in 2026-27 and now know who they will be playing on the conference schedule.

The Big Ten on Tuesday announced the men's basketball opponents grid for all 18 teams for next season. Penn State will play 20 conference games with home-and-home series against three Big Ten teams and single games against the other 14. That list includes seven home games and seven on the road.

Here's a look at Penn State's list of opponents. The Big Ten will announce schedule dates, times and broadcast information closer to the season.

Home-and-home conference opponents: Nebraska, Ohio State, Rutgers

Home-only conference opponents: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Northwestern, Oregon, Purdue, Washington

Road-only conference opponents: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan State, UCLA, USC, Wisconsin

Penn State returns to California for road games at USC and UCLA after making the Oregon-Washington trip last season. The Nittany Lions also will play road games at four returning Sweet 16 teams in Nebraska, Illinois, Iowa and Michigan State. Penn State will host defending NCAA champ Michigan.

On deck in 2026-27 🔜#WeAre | https://t.co/rDTN2PJCa9 pic.twitter.com/58QlJCzEdA
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) May 12, 2026

The Nittany Lions went 3-17 in the Big Ten during the lost 2025-26 season, dropping 10 straight conference games before beating Minnesota in February. Penn State finished last in the Big Ten during the regular season and went 12-20 overall, its first 20-loss season since 2013.

According to the Big Ten, Penn State's 79.3 points allowed per game marked the program's highest average since World War II. No Nittany Lions made the all-Big Ten teams, and guard Kayden Mingo did not make the all-conference freshman team.

Since the season ended, Penn State lost nine players to the transfer portal, including its top two scorers Freddie Dilione V (to Georgia) and Mingo (Baylor). Penn State coach Mike Rhoades has embarked on another roster rebuild, signing four players from the NCAA Transfer Portal.

All four signees are veteran players, underscoring Rhoades' desire to remake Penn State as an older team. Penn State had one of the nation's youngest rosters last season with eight freshmen.

"You've got to be old," Rhoades said in Chicago after the Big Ten Tournament. "You've got to be old, because everybody else is. The best teams in our league and the best teams in the country are old and experienced. We've got to address some of that.

"I always re-evaluate everything I do and what we do in the program, and I'll do that again. I know that works. It's been a tough stretch. This is a hard job, but it's pretty awesome too, the Big Ten and trying to figure it out at the place where I am."

Rhoades also has hired a veteran assistant coach in Dwayne Stephens, who spent the last four seasons as the head coach at Western Michigan. Prior to that, Stephens was an assistant coach on Tom Izzo's Michigan State staff.

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