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Penn State set for Philadelphia return in renewed Palestra tilt

nate-mug-10.12.14by: Nate Bauer09/18/25NateBauerBWI
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Penn State hosted Indiana at the Palestra last season. (Photo credit: Nate Bauer/BWI)

Penn State men’s basketball is going back to Philadelphia. Again.

Announced Thursday afternoon with the revelation of the complete Big Ten slate, head coach Mike Rhoades and the Nittany Lions will take on Illinois on Jan. 3 at the Palestra. The Cathedral of College Basketball has hosted Penn State for a “home” game in each of the past three seasons and five times since the 2017 campaign.

And Rhoades and the Nittany Lions are keeping it going.

“We definitely want to do this every year, if we could,” Rhoades said ahead of last year’s date with Indiana at the Palestra. “An experience and opportunities 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 what we’re trying to build. It’s great for our university, and it’s great for all the alumni in the greater Philadelphia area that are fighting for tickets for the game.”

Taking his team to Philadelphia, Rhoades explained the opportunity to further enrich his players’ experience of the game and its history.

“Playing in great environments when they’re sold out and it’s packed, that’s just fun. You enjoy that. That’s the the dreams and the goals you have as a young kid to play in front of great crowds like that. So, that’s a great opportunity for them to experience that,” he said. “I think certain people get excited about the history of the game and being a part of it. 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 in this place, on this court, and you get to experience that as well. I think that’s really cool.”

Scouting the Big Ten schedule

Along with the revelation of the latest Palestra game, Penn State is also due to take on 19 other Big Ten programs this season, including a two-game appetizer to the main course in December.

Starting off with a trip to Indiana on Dec. 9, the Nittany Lions will follow the conference opener with a Saturday, Dec. 13 date with Michigan State at the Bryce Jordan Center. Returning to action at the Palestra to begin the New Year, they’ll then return to the BJC to take on Michigan on Jan. 6.

It’ll precede a three-game road swing that includes trips to Purdue (Jan. 10), UCLA (Jan. 14), and Maryland (Jan. 18) before returning to the BJC to take on Wisconsin on Jan. 22. Then, they’ll be back on the road for games with Ohio State (Jan. 26) and Northwestern (Jan. 29).

Moving into February, Penn State will host Minnesota on the 1st, travel to Michigan for a rubber match (Feb. 5), then welcome Southern Cal to the BJC for the first time on Feb. 8. Back for another west coast swing, the Nittany Lions will then travel to Washington on Feb. 11 and follow it with Oregon in Eugene on Valentine’s Day.

Back to University Park, Pa., for a date with Rutgers (Feb. 18), the Nittany Lions will be back on the road to face Nebraska on Saturday, Feb. 21. They’ll close out the month the next weekend when they host Iowa at the BJC on Feb. 28.

Wrapping up the Big Ten slate, Penn State will host Ohio State for Senior Day on Wednesday, March 4 and close out the campaign when it travels to Rutgers on Sunday, March 8.

Check out the complete schedule, here!

Talk about it with our premium members in the Lions Den message board, here!