Penn State Basketball Schedules Another Neutral-Site Game for 2025

Penn State men's basketball has announced three games on its 2025-26 schedule, none of which is at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions will return to Philadelphia in November to face La Salle as part of the Basketball on Broad Autumn Invitational.

Penn State will meet La Salle in a doubleheader Nov. 15 at Philadelphia's Xfinity Mobile Arena. In game 2 of the day, Syracuse will take on Drexel. Penn State beat Drexel 75-64 last December at the former Wells Fargo Center.

"Xfinity Mobile Arena is quickly becoming the local hub for college basketball in the region," Michael Sulkes, general manager of Xfinity Mobile Arena, said in a statement. "We're looking forward to hosting four of the best basketball programs in the region and starting a new tradition with this doubleheader. With events like this doubleheader and the Big 5 Classic, we are excited be a part of the rich tradition of college basketball in Philadelphia."

Penn State has announced three regular-season non-conference games, all of which are outside State College. The Nittany Lions will face Providence on Nov. 22 in the Hall of Fame Showcase at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.

Penn State also will renew its rivalry with Pitt on Dec. 21 at Hershey's Giant Center. In addition, Penn State will play an exhibition game Oct. 19 at Dayton.

Mike Rhoades enters his third season as Penn State men's basketball coach with an changed roster. The Nittany Lions return just three players from last year's team, which went 16-15 overall and 6-14 in the Big Ten.

Rhoades signed four international players, including two from Slovenia, and transfer forward Josh Reed from Cincinnati. Penn State's 2025 recruiting class also includes guard Kayden Mingo, a top-40 player nationally and the highest-ranked recruit in Penn State basketball history.

The Nittany Lions return redshirt junior Freddie Dilione V with redshirt sophomore Eli Rice and sophomore Dominick Stewart. Dilione is the only returning starter on the roster, having played 31 games last season and starting 28. He averaged 9.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. Stewart played in 24 games, while Rice played in one.

Tibor Mirtic, a forward from Slovenia, became the fourth international player to join the Nittany Lions'
2025-26 roster, which Rhoades had to rebuild nearly from scratch after last season. Five seniors from last year's team exhausted their eligibility, and 7-foot center Yanic Konan Niederhauser left for the NBA Draft, where he became the program's first first-round pick. In addition, three players from Penn State's 2024 recruiting class transferred from the program.