Report: Penn State basketball adds ACC foe to 2024-25 schedule

Originally posted on Basic Blues Nation | By Matt Thomas | Last updated 3/31/24

Penn State basketball appears set to face off against an ACC foe early on in the 2024-25 campaign. First reported by The D1 Docket on March 28, Mike Rhoades and the Nittany Lions have agreed to a neutral site game against Virginia Tech in Baltimore on November 14. Neither program has publicly confirmed the news, but the report does offer our first look at year two under Mike Rhoades in Happy Valley.

Penn State basketball to face Virginia Tech in Baltimore, per reports

As reported by The D1 Docket on Thursday, Mike Rhoades and Penn State basketball will have an early season non-conference matchup with Virginia Tech out of the ACC. The game will be played at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, according to the report. The matchup has not been publicly confirmed by either the Nittany Lions or Hokies.

Virginia Tech and Penn State will play in a neutral-site non-conference game on November 14th at Baltimore’s CFG Bank Arena, per public records obtained by @TheD1Docket.

— The D1 Docket (See pinned tweet Docket link) (@TheD1Docket) March 28, 2024

Penn State basketball is 4-7 against Virginia Tech since 1921. The programs have faced off four times since 2014, twice in University Park, once in Blacksburg, and once at the Charleston Classic in South Carolina. The Nittany Lions have won three of those four matchups, but the Hokies got the better of Micah Shrewsberry and Penn State in 2022, winning 61-59.

First look at 2024

The reported matchup offers us a first look at the 2024-25 season for Penn State basketball. Although finishing 16-17, it was a successful first year under Mike Rhoades, defeating two top-15 programs and developing a sense of optimism that can be built on moving forward.

Virginia Tech is coming off a 19-15 season in year five with head coach Mike Young. Young has made the NCAA Tournament seven times in the last 14 years and led the Hokies to their first ACC Tournament Title in 2022. The Hokies’ staff also includes assistant JD Beyers, who was a member of Rhoades’ staff at Penn State for several weeks before leaving for Virginia Tech, where his wife is the head volleyball coach.

The November 14 neutral site game is the only one of Penn State’s matchups that we are aware of currently for 2024-25. Like football, the Big Ten will look much different next season with the additions of Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA. The Big Ten has not released a regular season schedule yet, but announced that the format will remain at 20 games. The conference tournament will expand from 14 to 15 schools.

This article first appeared on Basic Blues Nation and was syndicated with permission.

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