Mike Rhoades dips into PA roots to add reported game to Penn State basketball non-conference slate

Penn State basketball has reportedly added another opponent to its 2024-25 non-conference schedule. According to reports from Jon Rothstein late last week, Mike Rhoades and the Nittany Lions are expected to host Buffalo in the Bryce Jordan Center this December. The reported game would feature a matchup of Schuylkill County coaches, with both Rhoades and Bulls head coach George Halcovage III hailing from the Pennsylvania coal-region county. It would complement a series of neutral site matchups that are believed to be scheduled for Penn State this upcoming season. The report coincides with the release of the Nittany Lions’ conference opponents by the Big Ten last week.

Penn State basketball to host Buffalo in December, per reports

Per the reporting of College Hoops Today’s Jon Rothstein, Penn State basketball has added the first home game to its 2024-25 non-conference slate. The popular college basketball reporter tweeted Saturday morning that the Nittany Lions are expected to host Buffalo on December 1 inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The matchup has not been published on the team’s official schedule to date.

Source: Penn State will host Buffalo on December 1st as part if its 2024-25 non-conference schedule.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 4, 2024

Penn State basketball last played Buffalo in the early 2000s, swapping a home-and-home with the Bulls in the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. Each team won on the other’s home court. The Bulls are coming off a 4-27 season with first-year head coach George Halcovage III, a native of Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Halcovage previously served on legendary Villanova head coach Jay Wright’s staff since 2008.

The reported scheduling move represents another dip back into the Pennsylvania roots of Mike Rhoades. Rhoades, also a Schuylkill County native, has embraced being back in his home state since arriving in Happy Valley last March. In December, Penn State basketball held “Schuylkill County Day” for the Nittany Lions’ matchup against Bucknell.

Nittany Lions’ schedule starting to take shape

In recent weeks, we’ve gained a much better picture of what the path for Mike Rhoades and Penn State basketball will look like in 2025.

In addition to December’s reported matchup with Buffalo, the Nittany Lions are also expected to take on Virginia Tech in Baltimore in mid-November. That will be followed by an appearnce in Daytona Beach’s Sunshine Slam during Thanksgiving week. The matchups have yet to be confirmed by the school. 

Last week, we learned who the Nittany Lions will face as part of the new-look Big Ten this season. In addition to traditional conference foes, Penn State basketball will welcome Oregon and Washington to the Bryce Jordan Center. Mike Rhoades will then take his team to the West Coast for games against USC and UCLA. Dates for conference matchups have not been released by the Big Ten.

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