How to Watch Penn State Basketball Chase Another Upset vs. Purdue

The Nittany Lions face the fifth-ranked Boilermakers seeking their first Big Ten win of the season.

Penn State men's basketball coach Mike Rhoades talks to his Nittany Lions players during a timeout against the Pittsburgh Panthers at the Giant Center in Hershey. | Taj Falconer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Penn State men’s basketball will again be without leading scorer Kayden Mingo as it heads to Purdue to face its third top-25 opponent in a row. The Nittany Lions play their second Big Ten road game of the season against the No. 5 Boilermakers on Saturday.

This is the only matchup between Penn State and Purdue this season and another top-five challenge for the Nittany Lions this week. Here’s everything you need to know about the Penn State-Purdue game.

How to watch, stream Penn State vs. Purdue

Purdue hosts Penn State for a 2 p.m. ET Saturday at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana. Big Ten Network will televise, with Jack Kizer and Shon Morris. The game can be streamed on the Fox Sports app.

Can't watch? Listen to Steve Jones and Dick Jerardi on the Penn State Sports Network. The radio broadcast also is available on SiriusXM channel 372.

What is the Penn State-Purdue betting line?

Purdue is a 23.5-point favorite over the Nittany Lions, according to FanDuel. Penn State was a 24.5-point home underdog against Michigan, which fended off a last-second shot for a 74-72 victory.

Penn State won its last meeting with Purdue, defeating the then-No. 8 Boilermakers 81-70 last December. Freddie Dilione V scored 14 points. Penn State led by as many as 27 points en route to its first top-10 victory in five years.

However, the Nittany Lions are 3-25 in games at Purdue, last winning there in 2020. Purdue is No. 4 in the latest KenPom ratings, while Penn State is No. 110.

About the Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State Nittany Lions guard Freddie Dilione V (5) drives the ball to the basket during the first half against the Michigan Wolverines at Bryce Jordan Center. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Mingo, Penn State’s leading player, was injured earlier in practice one day before the Nittany Lions’ game vs. Michigan. Penn State coach Mike Rhoades did not provide a timeline for when Mingo might return. 

“You know, Penn State policy, but he’ll be out for a little bit,” Rhoades said. 

Despite being down its leading scorer, Penn State didn’t let Michigan dominate. The Nittany Lions kept it close, clawing back from a 15-point deficit and preventing any Wolverines field goals in the final three minutes. However, Freddie Dilione V’s final shot missed, and Michigan escaped the Bryce Jordan Center with a 74-72 victory. 

Dilione and Ivan Juric stepped up in Mingo’s absence, combining for 37 points. Juric scored a career-high 20. Defensively, the Nittany Lions outrebounded Michigan, won the turnover battle and scored 17 points off takeaways. 

“Everyone’s got to step up and, you know, you don’t cancel the game because somebody gets hurt. The next man steps up, and I thought we had a lot of guys step up,” Rhoades said. 

More will be asked from Dilione and freshman Melih Tunca during this stretch without Mingo. Tunca had a strong second half against the Wolverines and is averaging 10.2 points per game, third-most on the team.

Penn State has challenged ranked opponents this season, losing to three (Michigan State, Illinois and Michigan) by a combined points. While there’s frustration with every loss, the Nittany Lions remain confident, having kept games close.

“This is motivation. This just shows that we could keep up with the top guys in our conference and throughout the nation,” Dilione said after the Michigan game. “This is only motivation for us to just go out there and win the next game.”

Yet Penn State (0-4 Big Ten) is still searching for its first conference victory.

“I hate losing, I freaking hate it and I don’t want us to ever like, or being close is OK, screw that,” Rhoades said. “We didn’t come here to be close…our guys showed something [against Michigan], I’m sure everybody at Penn State is proud of it, but let’s do more. Let’s figure it out. Let’s keep building on it.”

About the Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) reacts to a foul call during the first half against the Washington Huskies at Mackey Arena. | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

After losing to Iowa State (now ranked third in the AP Top 25) last month, Purdue is on a six-game win streak heading into its matchup against Penn State. The Boilermakers (14-1, 4-0 Big Ten) are one of three teams with undefeated conference records with wins over Rutgers, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Washington. 

Purdue began the season ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 and dropped from the top 5 only once, for two weeks, following its lone loss to the Cyclones. 

Senior guard Braden Smith, an AP preseason All-American, leads the Big Ten in career assists after breaking the record against Wisconsin. His career total sits at 900 after producing seven assists and 23 points against the Huskies on Wednesday. Smith, the reigning Big Ten player of the year, leads the nation with 9.5 assists per game.  

Purdue has trailed or been tied for just over 16 minutes during this six-game win streak. Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn averaged 13.8 points per game each, while Kaufman-Renn has seven double-double performances and averages 10.1 rebounds. C.J. Cox is also stepping up for the Boilermakers, breaking into a double-figure scoring average (10.8) over the past four games.

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