With an 84-80 Big Ten win over Northwestern on Thursday, Penn State coach Mike Rhoades has led his squad to four consecutive victories. The Nittany Lions, off to their best start since the  2019-20 season, now return to the Palestra in Philadelphia for the third consecutive season. 

As Penn State men’s basketball approaches its 63rd game in program history at the “Cathedral of College Basketball,” Rhoades has his unit off to a 12-2 start, focused on the moment and preparing to face an 11-3 Indiana team inside the historic venue.

Penn State takes a hot streak into Big Ten play

Since their Dec. 10 second-half comeback against Rutgers fell short, the Nittany Lions haven’t lost. The team closed th 2024 with nonconference victories over Coppin State, Drexel and Penn closed and began 2025 by holding on for a strong victory over Northwestern.  

“Really proud of our guys for the resolve they had last night,” Rhoades said Friday. “You learn a lot from your team in wins and losses, and let’s continue to improve and get better from last night’s game.”

Forward Zach Hicks, now up to 12.6 points per game and 38 3-pointers through 14 games, led the way vs. the Wildcats with 20 points. Hicks, who averaged 8.4 points last season, has been a strong weapon for Rhoades as a knockdown shooter and offensive threat. But the second-year head coach has been more impressed with Hicks’ all-around impact.

“You guys could talk about Zach’s offense all you want, and he’s such a threat out there, and he’s doing different things. The other team has to prep for him in such a way, or he can kill you,” Rhoades said. “But his basketball awareness and IQ and feel, and especially his defense, have improved so much that he’s turned himself into a complete player, and that’s what I’m most proud about.”

Hicks is just one player who has stepped up for the Nittany Lions alongside the team’s two leading scorers, guard Ace Baldwin Jr. and center Yanic Konan Niederhauser. Penn State has generated key production from a variety of players, including transfer guard Freddie Dilione V (9.9 points per game) and forward Puff Johnson (10.6 points per game).

“[Dilione is] doing great. It’s awesome to see the type of maturity level he’s shown,” Johnson said Friday. “Coach Rhoades always talks about our army, and that’s just a prime example of just players just always stepping up when their number’s called and when they need to make plays.”

Returning to the Palestra

The Nittany Lions are set to face their third different conference opponent in The Palestra in as many seasons. Rhoades has said in the past that he wants Penn State to continue traveling to play in the Philadelphia arena, which opened in 1927, and experiencing the venue’s history Palestra is something he finds to be a “great experience for our players.”

“We definitely want to do this every year. … 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,” Rhoades said. “There [are] so many people in that area that are Penn Staters and lifers for Penn State University. So that connection just continues to build everything we’re trying to build here.”

Last season, Penn State beat Michigan 79-73 at a sold-out Palestra, its fifth win in its last six visits to the historic venue. Several returning players, including Hicks and Johnson, will be experiencing the basketball history within the nearly 100-year-old building for a second time. Johnson called The Palestra “a cool environment,” but there’s some added sentiment for Hicks, who grew up in the area and played at Temple for two seasons.

“Being close to home and having my family be able to come was just big for me [last year],” Hicks said Friday. “You just hear about so many historic games that were played there.”

Penn State is 25-37 at the Palestra but 14-8 in its last 22 games there.

Scouting Indiana

Penn State, which is the home team Sunday, draws a tough matchup in its Palestra game. Indiana has won seven of its last eight games, most recently topping Rutgers 84-74. Konan Niederhauser, who joins freshman Miles Goodman as Penn State’s lone players listed over 6-8, will have his hands full. Indiana’s three leading scorers all come from the frontcourt. Malik Reneau (6-9’), Mackenzie Mgbako (6-9’) and Oumar Ballo (7-0’) have combined for 40.5 points and 20.3 rebounds per game.

“You got to just make it really hard for them,” Rhoades said. “Like, don’t let them catch it where they want to catch it. Don’t let them make easy cuts to the ball. You can’t relax at all. And then when they do get it, make them make tough moves over you with great discipline and physicality without fouling them. Know that they’re probably going to make some plays, move on to the next one. … Good players are going to make plays at this level.”

A matchup in The Palestra vs. Indiana is just one of many upcoming challenges for Penn State. Following Sunday’s game in Philadelphia, the Nittany Lions continue Big Ten play with a gauntlet. Three of the five ranked Big Ten teams in the most recent AP Top 25 await the Nittany Lions: No. 22 Illinois, No. 9 Oregon and No. 18 Michigan State. Approaching a stretch that will certainly put Penn State’s strong start to the test, Rhoades is keeping his players focused on the moment in front of them. 

“Be in the now. Be where your feet are, be present. And if you just concentrate on being in the now, right now, and owning your moment, and you stack moments on top of moments of good training and good work and good concentration, I just think you really keep improving,” Rhoades said. “The guys know that we don’t talk about the standings, or it’s not up on the wall anywhere. Our habits, our core values, we talk about them more than our opponents. It’s more about what we do and what we can control than anything.”

How to watch, stream the Penn State vs. Indiana game

Penn State will take on Indiana in The Palestra at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday from Philadelphia’s historic Palestra. Big Ten Network will carry the game live, with the stream available on BTN+.

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Daniel Mader, a May 2024 graduate of Penn State, is an Editorial Intern with The Sporting News. As a student journalist with The Daily Collegian, he served as a sports editor and covered Nittany Lions women’s basketball, men’s volleyball and more. He has also covered Penn State football for NBC Sports and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, with additional work in the Centre Daily Times, Lancaster Online and more. Follow him on X @DanielMader_    or Instagram @dmadersports.