University Park, Pa. — Penn State will tip-off its 116th season of men’s basketball and the first under new head coach Patrick Chambers with a Saturday double-header with the Nittany Lion football team on Nov. 12. The contest is one of 13 non-conference games Chambers announced for the Nittany Lions 2011-12 slate.
Penn State will welcome all fans to help tip-off the Chambers’ era with free admission to the Bryce Jordan Center on Nov. 12 as the Nittany Lions open the season vs. Hartford on the same Saturday the Nittany Lion football team will face Nebraska across the street in Beaver Stadium. Times for both games have yet to be announced, pending television arrangements, but will allow fans to enjoy both contests on the day.
Penn State will give away 116 prizes during the Hartford game to commemorate the 116th season of Nittany Lion basketball. Nittany Lion basketball season ticket holders attending the Hartford game will receive early admission and a special commemorative gift at the door for the event that will have general admission seating. Further details on the day, including parking and shuttle service availability, will be distributed closer to the game.
Penn State will play five of its 13 non-conference games away from the Jordan Center, including stops in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Lions will take on at least four teams that won 20 or more games and five that reached the post-season, including 2011 NCAA Final Four participant Kentucky. The Wildcats will be the first non-conference opponent Penn State will face that reached the Final Four the previous season since the Nittany Lions defeated North Carolina in the second round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament and the first-ever in the pre-conference season since joining the Big Ten. Tip times and television arrangements for games will be announced at a later date.
Kentucky is one of four previously announced opponents Penn State will take on in the 2011 Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-off Tournament. The Nittany Lions will face Radford (Mon., Nov. 14) and 2011 NCAA Tournament participant Long Island (Wed., Nov. 16) at the Jordan Center in the first two games of the event. The Lions then travel to the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncansville, Conn., to face Kentucky on Sat., Nov. 19 in a noon tip and either South Florida or Old Dominion on Sun., Nov. 20 in a 2 p.m. tip.
Penn State will return to the Jordan Center on Wed., Nov. 23 to face Youngstown State before hitting the road again for a pair of road dates. The Nittany Lions will head to Philadelphia on Sat., Nov. 26 to take on Saint Joseph’s in a return engagement following last year’s 66-57 victory over the Hawks at the Jordan Center. Penn State will then head north on Wed., Nov. 30 for an ACC/Big Ten Challenge date at Boston College. The Eagles won 21 games last year and reached the NIT.
The Nittany Lions return to the Jordan Center on Sun., Dec. 4 for the second of a two-game series with Mississippi. The Rebels, who won 20 games last year and reached the NIT, posted an 84-71 victory in Oxford, Miss., last year. Lafayette comes to the BJC on Wed., Dec. 7 before Penn State plays the last of three non-conference road games in a return engagement with Duquesne on Sat., Dec. 10 at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. The Lions defeated the Dukes 77-73 at the Jordan Center last year.
Penn State will wrap-up the non-conference slate at home with the return of Mount St. Mary’s to the Jordan Center on Sun., Dec. 18 and a match-up with Cornell on Wed., Dec. 21. The Lions defeated The Mount, 57-53, last year in the BJC and will face Cornell for the first time since 2005.
Penn State will get its first taste of game action under Chambers in an exhibition contest on Sat., Nov. 5 vs. Slippery Rock at the Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions, who posted a 19-15 record last year and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001, return five letter winners and will have six scholarship newcomers to the active roster in Chambers’ first season. Junior guard Tim Frazier returns after a strong sophomore campaign that saw him finish fourth in the Big Ten in assists and average 10 points and 5.9 assists per game in the final 11 games of the year, including a career high 22 points vs. Michigan State, as Penn State made a run to its first-ever Big Ten Tournament championship game and the NCAA Tournament.
Nittany Lion Basketball season tickets are available by calling 814-865-5555. Season tickets are $200 for adults, $170 for faculty/staff and seniors, $80 for youth and $59 for students. PNC Flex Books are also available again this year for $99. The Flex Book gives fans 12 vouchers, 10 that can be redeemed in any combination for Nittany Lion and Lady Lion Basketball tickets throughout the year and two extra vouchers for the Nittany Lions’ Coaches Vs. Cancer game and the Lady Lions’ Think Pink game.
2011-12 NITTANY LION NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Sat., Nov. 5 vs. SLIPPERY ROCK (exibition)
Sat., Nov. 12 vs. HARTFORD
Mon., Nov. 14 vs. RADFORD (Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament)
Wed., Nov. 16 vs. LONG ISLAND (Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament)
Sat., Nov. 19 vs. Kentucky (BHOF Tip-Off Tournament) Noon at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncansville, Conn.
Sun., Nov. 20 vs. South Florida/Old Dominion (BHOF Tip-Off Tournament) 2 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncansville, Conn.
Wed., Nov. 23 vs. YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Sat., Nov. 26 at Saint Joseph’s
Wed., Nov. 30 at Boston College (ACC/Big Ten Challenge)
Sun., Dec. 4 vs. MISSISSIPPI
Wed., Dec. 7 vs. LAFAYETTE
Sat., Dec. 10 at Duquesne (Consol Energy Center)
Sun., Dec. 18 vs. MOUNT ST. MARY’S
Wed., Dec. 21 vs. CORNELL
