Mike Rhoades: Penn State basketball embracing revenge game for Texas A&M

After an undefeated start to the season, Penn State basketball faces its toughest to date when the Nittany Lions take on No. 12 Texas A&M on Thanksgiving Day in the opening round of the ESPN Events Invitational. Potentially a statement win for this young season, defeating the Aggies would be the biggest victory for Penn State since the final win of last season. That win was also against Texas A&M, an upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Things look much different in Happy Valley now than in March. But the motivation for the Aggies to avenge their first-round ouster is still the same. Leading up to this game, Nittany Lions head coach Mike Rhoades acknowledged the revenge factor for Texas A&M and embraced the challenge for his team.

Mike Rhoades, Penn State basketball aware of revenge factor for Texas A&M

Penn State basketball pulled off one of the most impressive early upsets of the NCAA Tournament in March, when the 10th-seeded Nittany Lions took down seventh-seeded Texas A&M.

The first-round upset wasn’t as surprising for March Madness as how it occurred. The Nittany Lions dominated the Aggies for a 76-59 win, the program’s first in the NCAA Tournament since 2001.

Now eight months later, the two teams meet on the hardwood again. Micah Shrewsberry has left Happy Valley, replaced by Mike Rhoades and a new-look Nittany Lions team. Texas A&M is picking up where it left off last year, with a top-15 ranking to start 2023.

Although the core of this Penn State basketball team — its head coach included — wasn’t around for last year’s upset, the Nittany Lions know that Texas A&M will be out for revenge on Thursday. In fact, Mike Rhoades thinks the Aggies would be wasting an opportunity if they weren’t.

“We’re aware of it,” Rhoades said of last year’s game. “And we made our players aware of it, and we have some guys, five guys, that were part of it last year. So, yeah, if that brings more juice to the game, great. So be it…All those guys from Texas A&M involved, if you’re not a competitor and not thinking of that, you’re wasting an opportunity. They’ll be fired up. Their coaches will use it. Coaches use everything they can for motivation and to get their team ready.”

Rhoades even had some fun with the media on Monday, encouraging the group to use the “revenge” storyline.

“You guys keep writing about it,” he said. “They’ll [Texas A&M] enjoy it.”

Aggies will be a bellwether for the Nittany Lions

Penn State is out to a strong start this season, undefeated in its first four games. But the Nittany Lions’ competition thus far pales in comparison to what they will face against Texas A&M. The Aggies return several talented players from last year’s team, including preseason All-SEC selections Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece Radford.

Not only that, but Texas A&M has established a culture of success under Buzz Williams. For Mike Rhoades, this is the starkest difference between the two programs.

“They’ve got guys that have played together, returning players — a bunch of them — and some other guys, as well,” Rhoades said. “And then they have a solidified culture, as I like to say. They know how they’re going to play, no matter who they play against, and go about it their way. And they play extremely physical, extremely hard. So, you know they’re an established program. We’re not an established program. We’re figuring out here on the fly, to build an established culture and program. So, that’s their advantage.”

But for a Penn State basketball program that’s still finding itself, this is exactly the type of game Mike Rhoades wants to play.

“There are certain programs out there, Texas A&M is one of them on our schedule, that you know they are great markers for us for where we want to get to, where we want to go,” he said. And playing these games, this is why we do it.”

Tip-off between Penn State basketball and Texas A&M is Thursday at noon on ESPN.

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