How to watch Penn State vs. Michigan in Big Ten Tournament

nate-mug-10.12.14by:Nate Bauer•03/13/24•

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Mike Rhoades Postgame Press Conference - Maryland

Penn State produced an improbable run to the Big Ten Tournament title game to spur on an NCAA Tournament berth last season. The No. 10-seed Nittany Lions ran through Illinois, Northwestern, and Indiana before finally succumbing to Purdue in the championship.

A year and monumental changes later, the Nittany Lions are looking to start the process again on Wednesday night. This time entering the league tournament as an 11-seed, Penn State will face No. 14-seed Michigan in the first round.

And head coach Mike Rhoades is delivering a “house money” message to his team ahead of the tilt, relying on prevailing doubts outside the program to contrast against the belief of a team that finished his first Big Ten campaign with a mark of 9 wins and 11 losses.

“Nobody thought we would win. You guys didn’t think we would win. (KenPom) thought we were gonna lose 17 in a row. I didn’t think that. Our guys didn’t think that. So when everyone’s betting against you, when everybody thinks you stink and can’t win in the Big Ten and the guys putting on the uniforms and the coaches that are working with those guys every day think they can, that’s house money,” said Rhoades. “If I’m going to bet on anyone, I’m going to bet on us. That’s the fun of it. The pressure is on everybody else then. So let’s just go out and play.

“I think we’ve had that mentality a lot this year. And I think it’s helped us. We’ve had moments that we’ve played at a really high level against a lot of teams in the Big Ten. And that’s where we want to get to on a consistent basis. I think that’s the neat thing of this first year. But we’ve also had some moments where we haven’t. But I think our approach and our guys, they think they can win. And that’s playing with house money. The pressure is on everybody else, not us. And that makes it fun to go out and play.”

Here is how to watch the Nittany Lions in action:

No. 11-seed Penn State (15-16 overall, 9-11 B1G, NET 89) vs. No. 14-seed Michigan (8-23, 3-17 B1G, NET 131)

What is the Penn State-Michigan spread?

The Nittany Lions are 7-point favorites over Michigan on Wednesday evening. And, the over/under betting total is 150.5 points. 

Injury report

Penn State redshirt freshman big man Demetrius Lilley is again listed as questionable for tonight’s game on the official Big Ten availability report. He’s played in 18 games this season, averaging 9.8 minutes per outing while providing needed support for honorable mention all-conference center Qudus Wahab.

Yet, his status remains in question due to an unspecified injury that has kept him out of the lineup in all but one game over the past month.

“The other day he was feeling good and then the last two days, he wasn’t. It’s day to day. It’s the best way to tell you,” said Rhoades. “We’ll see how he feels today. He’s woken up a couple of days and felt pretty good and was able to help us. Then the last two days, he just wasn’t well. He wasn’t well and he couldn’t go.

“It’s hard for everybody. It’s hard for a coaching staff because he’s in the rotation. And it’s hard for him because he’s seeing his team having success and he can’t be a part of it. One day, he’s feeling good, so I’m gonna be ready to go. And then the next day he wakes up and he can’t go. You just gotta keep doing what Justin says in the training room and follow the doctor’s plans and trainer’s plans. Hopefully he’ll feel better today so he can help us this week. I hate to say day to day, it sounds like I’m not answering your question, but I really am. He’s had some good days and he’s had some days he hasn’t felt well.”

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