PREVIEW: Penn State basketball looks to continue winning ways vs St. Francis

Penn State basketball gears up for game No. 3 this evening, as the Nittany Lions play host to St. Francis (PA) inside the Bryce Jordan Center this evening. After narrowly avoiding an upset Friday night, the Nittany Lions look to move to 3-0 under new head coach Mike Rhoades. What should we expect from tonight’s matchup as Penn State still settles into a new era of hoops in Happy Valley?

Who is St. Francis (PA) this season?

St. Francis comes into tonight 0-3 on the season after losses to UCLA, San Francisco, and Santa Clara. The trip out to the West Coast was not a successful one for the Red Flash. The closest game of the 3-game trip was a 23 point loss to Santa Clara on Saturday.

St. Francis is led by sophomore guard Cam Gregory, who is averaging about 10 points and 2 assists on a shooting line of 35-33-89. Scoring has been hard to come by for the Red Flash, scoring under 60 in all 3 games.

Last year St. Francis went 13-17 overall and 9-7 in conference play. But the Red Flash’s best player, center Josh Cohen, who averaged about 22 points per game, left via the transfer portal to UMass. This has left a huge scoring hole in the St. Francis lineup that it has not been able to effectively fill so far this year. 

Penn State basketball looks to continue winning ways under Mike Rhoades

Penn State basketball comes into the game at 2-0 after wins over Delaware State and Lehigh. Delaware State was a rout, with the Nittany Lions winning by 34. But the game was still sloppy, with the teams combining for 44 turnovers.

The Lehigh matchup was much tighter, with Penn State basketball taking control in the second half to earn a 9 point win. Penn State has been led by Kanye Clary, who is averaging 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists on a shooting line of 60-50-69 so far on the season. 

This matchup is a good one for Mike Rhoades and Penn State to continue to experiment with different lineups and rotations while still doing enough to win comfortably. Look for players like Leo O’Boyle and Ace Baldwin to try and really get going in this game.

Opening tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

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