Penn State adds to 2025-26 schedule, facing La Salle in Philadelphia

A third game has officially been named to the Penn State men’s basketball 2025-26 nonconference schedule. Announced on Thursday, the Nittany Lions will return to Philadelphia to play in its NBA arena, this time taking on La Salle on Saturday, Nov. 15 in their third neutral-site matchup of the year.

Tickets are on sale for the event, which is slated to tip at noon as part of a double-header called the Broad Autumn Invitational, with Syracuse and Drexel taking the second spot. The arrangement of the games has not yet been determined, nor has television information.

Last season, La Salle finished at 14-19 overall with a 5-13 mark against Atlantic 10 competition. Like the Nittany Lions, the Explorers are similarly featuring a largely new roster under the direction of first-year head coach Darris Nichols following the retirement of veteran Fran Dunphy.

Their most anticipated newcomer, true freshman forward Naas Hart, was rated as a four-star by Rivals for the Class of 2025. He also carried the No. 115 overall ranking in the class, holding the designation as the second-highest ranked recruit in program history.

Penn State scheduling process continues

The news of Penn State’s matchup with La Salle builds on top of three other formally announced matchups for the Nittany Lions this season, including a charity exhibition with Dayton set for Sunday, Oct. 19.

One week after taking on the Explorers, Penn State will also travel to Uncasville, Conn., to participate in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase. The Nittany Lions will meet Big East opponent Providence in the Nov. 22 date.

Additionally, Penn State will meet in-state foe Pittsburgh on Sunday, Dec. 21 at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa. Tip times and television details for both matchups have not yet been announced.

Meeting with reporters in June, head coach Mike Rhoades acknowledged the challenges that come with building a nonconference schedule in today’s college basketball.

“Yeah, we’re doing a good job. We have two more games to finish up here. Scheduling has gone later, just because people before they schedule a complete schedule, they want to have a complete roster, which I don’t know if that’s possible these days. So we’re sort of in the same boat as everybody else,” said Rhoades. “There’s some games we got done that we feel good about. A little bit of travel, but also trying to have a good balance, like last year, some good games, home games that get our guys going, and then a good enough schedule to get ready for the Big Ten schedule. Because once you get in that, as everybody knows, it’s a beast. So I want to have great balance. We’re close to announcing it, we just got to finish up a couple contracts.”

Sizing up the Penn State 2025-26 schedule

Date	Opponent	Location	Status
Nov. 3	Fairfield	BJC	Confirmed
Nov. 8	New Haven	Away	Confirmed
Nov. 15	La Salle	Neutral (Philadelphia)	Confirmed
Nov. 19	Harvard	BJC	Confirmed
Nov. 22	Providence	Neutral (Mohegan Sun)	Confirmed
Nov. 25	Boston University	BJC	Confirmed
Nov. 29	Sacred Heart	BJC	Confirmed
Dec. 21	Pittsburgh	Neutral (Hershey)	Confirmed
Dec. 29	NC Central	BJC	Confirmed

Penn State has two remaining spots for nonconference games this season.

Where things stand on the roster

Guards Freddie Dilione, Dominick Stewart, Kayden Mingo, Reggie Grodin, Melih Tunca
Wings Eli Rice, Mason Blackwood, Josh Reed, Chris Lotito
Bigs Justin Hauser, Ivan Juric, Tibor Mirtic, Saša Ciani

Penn State scholarship breakdown by class

Fifth year (0): 
Fourth year (1): Josh Reed
Third year (3): Freddie Dilione, Eli Rice, Saša Ciani
Second year (1): Dominick Stewart
First year (8): Justin Hauser, Mason Blackwood, Kayden Mingo, Ivan Juric, Reggie Grodin, Melih Tunca, Chris Lotito, Tibor Mirtic

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