Penn State prepares for Indiana ahead of its third straight trip to the Palestra

For the third year in a row, Penn State is headed back to the Palestra — this time to take on Indiana in a Sunday matinee (noon, Big Ten Network).

Last year, the Nittany Lions beat Michigan, 79-73, before a sold-out Palestra crowd. Sunday’s game will mark the 63rd time the program has played at the venue.

“We definitely want to do this every year,” said Penn State head coach Mike Rhoades. “If you come to play basketball at Penn State, I want you to get to a point when your career is over to say, ‘Man, I would do that again’ and to experience the opportunity to play at a storied arena like the Palestra in the city of Philadelphia, where college basketball is a big deal, I think that’s great for our guys. It’s great for our university, and it’s great for our alumni in the greater Philadelphia area who are fighting for tickets for the game.”

Penn State’s top player this season has been senior point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. Baldwin, who is averaging 15 points and 8.5 assists per game, has fueled the Nittany Lions’ 12-2 start (2-1 Big Ten), the program’s best start to a season since 2019.

However, Rhoades wants to ensure his team does not get wrapped up in their hot start.

“Be in the now. Be where your feet are. Be present. … I’m just an ‘in the moment’ guy,” Rhoades said. “That’s probably why I’m late paying bills during the season and I’m late to take out the garbage because I’m locked into what we can do right now to improve our program and players.”

On the other side, Indiana (11-3, 2-1) has won three in a row. The Hoosiers’ leading scorer is junior forward Malik Reneau, who’s averaging 14.1 points. However, Reneau suffered a knee injury early in Thursday’s game against Rutgers and did not return. His status remained in question as of Friday afternoon.

» READ MORE: Drew Allar’s game reaches new heights in leading Penn State to college football’s final four

Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions are coming off an 84-80 conference win over Northwestern in which they scored 36 points on free throws.

Penn State guard D’Marco Dunn’s block with 6 seconds left originally was called for goaltending, which stopped the play before a Northwestern putback would have tied the game. After a lengthy review, the call was reversed, negating any Northwestern points. Two free throws iced the game for the Nittany Lions. The call created a lot of chatter across social media Thursday.

Sunday’s matchup also will serve as a homecoming for two Penn State players with connections to the Philadelphia area.

Starting senior forward Zach Hicks starred at Camden Catholic, averaging 21.9 points in his senior season. Hicks committed to Temple after high school and played two years on North Broad before transferring to State College.

“I think [playing at the Palestra] is huge because you hear about so many historic games that have been played there,” Hicks said. “Obviously, I went to Temple, so a lot of Big 5 games were played there, even if it wasn’t just playing Penn. Just being there and my family being able to come, playing at that historic building, and hopefully coming out with a win would be great for me.”

This season, Hicks is averaging 12.6 points per game, good for third on the team. Against Northwestern, Hicks scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed three boards.

“His basketball awareness and IQ and feel, and especially his defense, have improved so much that he’s turned himself into a complete player,” Rhoades said of Hicks’ growth.

Additionally, Kachi Nzeh hails from Upper Darby and attended the George School. Nzeh has been used sparingly off the bench this season. He scored a season-high eight points against Virginia Tech in 26 minutes on Nov. 15.

For the players who are not from the area, Rhoades is looking to draw upon the mystique of the Palestra in preparation. With the short turnaround through, he joked he “won’t do the history lesson” that he gave in the past.

“The Palestra has been around for such a long time that so many great teams and great players, some of the best players that ever played basketball, have played on this court,” Rhoades said.

» READ MORE: Follow the Inquirer's full coverage of Penn State athletics right here!