Penn State men’s basketball is slowly climbing into the national conversation as the Nittany Lions have received votes in the latest edition of the AP Poll.
Penn State last received votes during the 2022-23 season, when Jalen Pickett and Seth Lundy led the program to a 23-14 overall record and a Cinderella run to the Big Ten title game against Purdue before defeating Texas A&M in the NCAA Tournament.
This year, it’s been guard Ace Baldwin Jr. leading the way with 14.3 points, 7 assists, and nearly 3 steals a game, along with Zach Hicks shooting 48% from 3-point range on over seven attempts per contest. What’s more impressive is how soundly Mike Rhoades’ squad has won its first four games, defeating opponents by an average of 35.75 points per game. That includes a 22-point victory over Virginia Tech at the Hall of Fame series, so it isn’t an entirely weak schedule.
ALL-TIME PLAYS: James Franklin’s favorite Penn State football play? Why it was Abdul Carter vs. Purdue …
SIGNING DAY: See where York-Adams student-athletes are playing sports in college
Time will tell if this is only a hot start or a sign of good things to come for basketball in Happy Valley, but the program is doing the right things early on in the season. Considering the schedule, It’s also not out of the realm of possibility that Penn State could sneak into the Top 25 before meeting its first conference opponent on Dec. 5, something the program hasn’t done since March 2020. The Nittany Lions’ best chance before that would be a potential matchup against Clemson in the Sunshine Slam.
Until then, let’s see if Penn State hoops can keep the national attention.
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Penn State basketball is on the rise in latest Top 25 poll
