Penn State-Michigan State Preview: An Opportunity for the Lions
Penn State men’s basketball coach Mike Rhoades, a Schuylkill County native, still is pretty excited about his gig with the Nittany Lions. And he's even more thrilled to be hitting the Big Ten road tour again, this time in East Lansing, where the Lions will face Michigan State on Thursday.
“I've said it before, I'm the new head coach at Penn State from Pennsylvania, and I'm gonna get to coach my team on Thursday at Michigan State? How awesome is that?" Rhoades said at his weekly media availability. "I mean, and just think if we win. How cool is that gonna be, right?"
It will be Rhoades' first time visiting the respective arenas as a head coach for each conference away game Penn State plays this year. “That's how I look at [going to Michigan State] and going to Indiana or Purdue or Northwestern," Rhoades said. "Going to Maryland was really cool when we played there. I love road games.”
Rhoades might love road games, but the Lions haven't won yet away from home. They're 7-1 at the Bryce Jordan Center and 0-5 away from it, including four losses in neutral-site games. How can Penn State get its first road win? Here's what you need to know about the Penn State vs. Michigan State game.
Penn State (7-6, 1-1) Vs. Michigan State (8-5, 0-2)
When: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Breslin Center, East Lansing, Michigan
Streaming: Peacock
KenPom rankings: Penn State is No. 108; Michigan State is No. 20
NCAA NET rankings: Penn State is No. 115; Michigan State is No. 29
Series history: Michigan State leads 43-10
Last meeting: Michigan State 67-58 in December 2022
About the Lions: As excited as Rhoades is for this week’s road test, the Big Ten has a reputation for boasting difficult road environments, with the Spartans’ Breslin Center near the top. Penn State is 2-25 all-time in East Lansing, winning there in 2009 and 2020. Penn State needs its top players to produce, beginning with Kanye Clary. The Big Ten's sixth-leading scorer (18.2 points per game), is coming off a career-high 29-point performance against Rider. Clary has seven 20-point games this season and has driven the Lions' offense. Ace Baldwin Jr. scored his 1,000th career point against Rider, a nice milestone dating to his time at VCU with Rhoades. But that rebounding margin (minus-5.5, last in the Big Ten) continues to haunt Penn State and will be something to scheme around in the Big Ten.
About the Spartans: Coach Tom Izzo’s team doesn’t have a sparkling record (8-5), but some highly ranked competition early in the year has contributed. The Spartans boast one of the best and most veteran backcourts in the country, led by Tyson Walker (20 points per game) and A.J. Hoggard (11.3 points, 5.0 assists).
“Walker can really score in bunches [and] score it in different ways. He's a really good isolation guy, he can make threes off the dribble as well but also he can get into the defense because he's so quick to get to the rim,” Rhoades said. “He makes big plays for them. He's gotta score for them.”
“Hoggard, he is a big, strong point guard that runs the show. He can score to get to the rim, but he also sets people up. You can tell he's an extension of his coach. He's been there for a while,” Rhoades added. “So two very good Big Ten guards, very good backcourt. We have our hands full, but I like our backcourt as well.”
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Max Ralph is a Penn State senior studying Broadcast Journalism with minors in sports studies and Japanese. He previously covered Penn State football for two years with The Daily Collegian and has reported with the Associated Press and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Follow him on Twitter (X) @maxralph_ and Instagram @mralph_59.
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