BIG TEN TEAM PREVIEW #12 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS

Penn State hasn't found much success yet under third-year head coach Mike Rhoades. They hired Rhoades from VCU after the previous head coach, Micah Shrewsberry, left Penn State to take the Notre Dame job. Rhoades was coming off an extremely successful season at VCU, where they finished 27-8 and reached the NCAA tournament. He hasn't quite gotten back to that level at Penn State, as they have a 32-32 record in his two seasons at the helm.

Projected Lineup:

G Kayden Mingo

G Freddie Dilione

F Mason Blackwood

F Josh Reed (Cincinnati transfer)

F Sasa Ciani (UIC transfer)

Penn State lost its top five scorers from last season's squad in Ace Baldwin, Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Zach Hicks, Nick Kern, and Puff Johnson. The duo of 6-foot-1 guard Ace Baldwin and 7-foot center Yanic Konan Niederhauser will be tough to replace. Baldwin averaged 14 points and 7.1 assists while being one of the top defenders in the conference. Konan Niderhauser averaged 12.9 points and 6.3 rebounds while leading the Big Ten in blocks with 2.3 per game. Penn State's top returner from last season is 6-foot-5 shooting guard Freddie Dilione. Dilione started in 28 of the 31 games he played in last season, averaging 9.4 points and 2.8 rebounds. Two other returners from last season's squad that should have bigger roles for the Nittany Lions this season are 6-foot-5 shooting guard Dominick Stewart and 6-foot-8 forward Eli Rice.

Penn State only bought in two players through the portal this offseason despite all the players they lost. 6-foot-7 forward Josh Reed transfers in from Cincinnati. He had a bench role there last season, averaging 4.8 points and 2.5 rebounds. 6-foot-9 forward Sasa Ciani was their other portal addition. He transfers in from the University of Illinois-Chicago, where he averaged 9.9 points and 7.6 rebounds last season. Penn State will be relying a lot on its incoming freshmen this season. 6-foot-2 point guard Kayden Mingo was just selected as the preseason freshman of the year for the Big Ten conference. He is the #34 player in the 2025 class by 247 Sports. 6-foot-7 forward Mason Blackwood is another player who should make an immediate impact. Blackwood is the #113 player in the 2025 recruiting class. They also added four-star international recruit Melih Tunca from Turkey. He's already 20 years old and should also contribute right away, possibly starting some games.

Not sure why Penn State didn't do more in the portal this offseason after they lost so many minutes from last year's team. With the amount of playtime he'll get this season, Kayden Mingo could easily average 15+ in his freshman season. Overall, this Penn State team just isn't good outside of Mingo. They have practically no depth, and their frontcourt is a serious issue.

Prediction: 17th in Big Ten