2023–24 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team

The 2023–24 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team represented Penn State University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by first-year head coach Mike Rhoades, and played their home games at Bryce Jordan Center located in University Park, Pennsylvania as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 16–17, 9–11 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for 10th place. As the No. 11 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Michigan in the first round before losing to Indiana in the second round.

2023–24 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	16–17 (9–11 Big Ten)
Head coach	Mike Rhoades (1st season)
Associate head coach	Jamal Brunt (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Brent Scott (1st season) Jimmy Martelli (1st season)
Home arena	Bryce Jordan Center
Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

2023–24 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 2 Purdue	17	–	3		.850			34	–	5		.872
No. 6 Illinois †	14	–	6		.700			29	–	9		.763
Nebraska	12	–	8		.600			23	–	11		.676
Northwestern	12	–	8		.600			22	–	12		.647
Wisconsin	11	–	9		.550			22	–	14		.611
Indiana	10	–	10		.500			19	–	14		.576
Iowa	10	–	10		.500			19	–	15		.559
Michigan State	10	–	10		.500			20	–	15		.571
Minnesota	9	–	11		.450			19	–	15		.559
Ohio State	9	–	11		.450			22	–	14		.611
Penn State	9	–	11		.450			16	–	17		.485
Maryland	7	–	13		.350			16	–	17		.485
Rutgers	7	–	13		.350			15	–	17		.469
Michigan	3	–	17		.150			8	–	24		.250
† 2024 Big Ten tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Nittany Lions finished the season 23–14, 10–10 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for ninth place. They defeated Illinois, Northwestern, and Indiana in the Big Ten tournament to advance to the semifinals before losing to Purdue. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011 as the No. 10 seed in the Midwest region. They defeated Texas A&M in the first round of the tournament, marking their first tournament win since 2001, before losing to Texas in the second round.

On March 22, 2023, head coach Micah Shrewsberry left the school to take the head coaching job at Notre Dame.^[1] On March 29, the school named VCU head coach Mike Rhoades the team's new head coach.^[2]

Offseason

Departures

Penn State departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Seth Lundy	1	G/F	6'6"	220	Senior	Paulsboro, NJ	Declared for 2023 NBA draft; selected 46th overall by Atlanta Hawks
Myles Dread	2	G/F	6'4"	235	GS Senior	Detroit, MI	Graduated
Kebba Njie	3	F	6'10"	237	Freshman	Centerville, OH	Transferred to Notre Dame
Caleb Dorsey	4	F	6'7"	235	Junior	Westminster, MD	Transferred to William & Mary
Andrew Funk	10	G	6'5"	200	GS Senior	Warrington Township, PA	Graduated; went undrafted in 2023 NBA draft
Camren Wynter	11	G	6'2"	200	GS Senior	Hempstead, NY	Graduated
Evan Mahaffey	12	G/F	6'6"	200	Freshman	Cincinnati, OH	Transferred to Ohio State
Jalen Pickett	22	G	6'4"	209	GS Senior	Rochester, NY	Graduated; selected 32nd overall by Indiana Pacers in 2023 NBA draft
Dallion Johnson	23	G	6'3"	180	Junior	Haverhill, MA	Transferred to Florida Gulf Coast
Michael Henn	24	F	6'8"	244	GS Senior	Bellevue, WA	Graduated
Ishaan Jagiasi	35	G	6'1"	197	Senior	Wilmington, DE	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Penn State incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Ace Baldwin Jr.	1	G	6'1"	190	Senior	Baltimore, MD	VCU
D'Marco Dunn	2	G	6'5"	195	Junior	Tucson, AZ	North Carolina
Nick Kern Jr.	3	G	6'6"	200	Junior	St. Louis, MO	VCU
Puff Johnson	4	G/F	6'8"	205	Senior	Moon Township, PA	North Carolina
Leo O'Boyle	11	F	6'7"	225	GS Senior	Scranton, PA	Lafayette
Favour Aire	12	F	6'11"	220	Sophomore	Ekpoma, Nigeria	Miami (FL)
RayQuawndis Mitchell	21	G	6'5"	195	GS Senior	Blaine, MN	Kansas City
Qudus Wahab	22	F/C	6'11"	245	GS Senior	Lagos, Nigeria	Georgetown
Zach Hicks	24	F	6'8"	200	Junior	Camden, NJ	Temple

Recruiting classes

2023 recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Bragi Guðmundsson PG	Grindavík, Iceland	Fjölbrautaskóli Suðurnesja	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	May 17, 2023
	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Overall recruit ranking:    Rivals: 73    247Sports: 129    ESPN: —
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Penn State 2023 Basketball Commitments". Rivals. Retrieved March 9, 2024. "2023 Penn State Nittany Lions Recruiting Class". ESPN. Retrieved March 9, 2024. "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved March 9, 2024. "Penn State 2023 Basketball Commits". 247Sports. Retrieved March 9, 2024.

2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2024)
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Miles Goodman #17 C	Seattle, Washington	Southern California Academy	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Nov 6, 2023
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Jahvin Carter #39 SG	Alcoa, Tennessee	Alcoa High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jun 26, 2023
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:
Dominick Stewart #33 PG	Lanham, Maryland	Southern California Academy	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sep 22, 2023
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:
Hudson Ward #40 SF	Edmonton, Alberta	Western Canada Prep Academy	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jan 31, 2023
	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Overall recruit ranking:    Rivals: 39    247Sports: 25    ESPN: —
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Penn State 2024 Basketball Commitments". Rivals. Retrieved March 9, 2024. "2024 Penn State Nittany Lions Recruiting Class". ESPN. Retrieved March 9, 2024. "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved March 9, 2024. "Penn State 2024 Basketball Commits". 247Sports. Retrieved March 9, 2024.

Roster

2023–24 Penn State Nittany Lions men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Kanye Clary[a] 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 192 lb (87 kg) So Massanutten Military Academy Virginia Beach, VA G 1 Ace Baldwin Jr. 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr VCU Baltimore, MD G 2 D'Marco Dunn 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr North Carolina Tucson, AZ G 3 Nick Kern Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr VCU St. Louis, MO G/F 4 Puff Johnson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr North Carolina Moon Township, PA G 5 Jameel Brown 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 188 lb (85 kg) So Westtown School Philadelphia, PA G 6 Bragi Guðmundsson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Fjölbrautaskóli Suðurnesja Grindavík, Iceland F 11 Leo O'Boyle 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) GS Lafayette Scranton, PA F 12 Favour Aire 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Miami (FL) Ekpoma, Nigeria F 14 Demetrius Lilley 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Lower Merion HS Philadelphia, PA G 15 Dan Conlan (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 186 lb (84 kg) Sr Dickinson Sewickley, PA G 21 RayQuawndis Mitchell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) GS Kansas City Blaine, MN F 22 Qudus Wahab 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) GS Georgetown Lagos, Nigeria F 24 Zach Hicks 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Temple Camden, NJ G 33 Andy Christos (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 186 lb (84 kg) Sr Vermont Academy Madison, NJ	Head coach Mike Rhoades (Lebanon Valley) Assistant coach(es) Jamal Brunt (Randolph–Macon) Brent Scott (Rice) Jimmy Martelli (Dickinson) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: March 10, 2024

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 27, 2023 7:00 p.m.		at Robert Morris Coaches vs. Cancer and American Cancer Society	W 68–58		15 – Wahab	10 – Wahab	6 – Baldwin Jr.	UPMC Events Center (2,417) Moon Township, PA
Regular season
November 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., BTN Plus		Delaware State	W 79–45	1–0	22 – Clary	13 – Wahab	5 – Baldwin Jr.	Bryce Jordan Center (7,345) University Park, PA
November 10, 2023* 7:30 p.m., BTN Plus		Lehigh	W 74–65	2–0	20 – Clary	18 – Wahab	2 – Clary	Bryce Jordan Center (10,272) University Park, PA
November 14, 2023* 7:00 p.m., BTN		Saint Francis (PA)	W 83–53	3–0	14 – Clary	6 – Wahab	4 – Baldwin Jr.	Bryce Jordan Center (7,546) University Park, PA
November 17, 2023* 7:00 p.m., Peacock		Morehead State	W 74–51	4–0	14 – Tied	12 – Wahab	4 – Baldwin Jr.	Bryce Jordan Center (7,558) University Park, PA
November 23, 2023* 12:00 p.m., ESPN		vs. No. 12 Texas A&M ESPN Events Invitational quarterfinal	L 77–89	4–1	19 – Clary	5 – Wahab	4 – Clary	State Farm Field House  Bay Lake, FL
November 24, 2023* 1:30 p.m., ESPN+		vs. Butler ESPN Events Invitational consolation 2nd round	L 78–88	4–2	28 – Clary	8 – Hicks	3 – Tied	State Farm Field House (2,194) Bay Lake, FL
November 26, 2023* 10:30 a.m., ESPNU		vs. VCU ESPN Events Invitational 7th place game	L 74–86	4–3	27 – Baldwin, Jr.	6 – Wahab	5 – Baldwin, Jr.	State Farm Field House  Bay Lake, FL
December 2, 2023* 12:00 p.m., BTN		Bucknell	L 67–76	4–4	18 – Wahab	8 – Wahab	6 – Clary	Bryce Jordan Center (8,590) University Park, PA
December 6, 2023 7:00 p.m., BTN		at Maryland	L 75–81 OT	4–5 (0–1)	25 – Clary	9 – Wahab	5 – Baldwin Jr.	Xfinity Center (15,290) College Park, MD
December 9, 2023 6:00 p.m., BTN		Ohio State	W 83–80	5–5 (1–1)	19 – Clary	6 – Hicks	5 – Baldwin Jr.	Bryce Jordan Center (9,732) University Park, PA
December 16, 2023* 12:00 p.m., BTN		vs. Georgia Tech	L 81–82 OT	5–6	23 – Clary	10 – Wahab	7 – Baldwin Jr.	Madison Square Garden  New York, NY
December 21, 2023* 7:00 p.m., Peacock		Le Moyne	W 72–55	6–6	20 – Clary	9 – Wahab	6 – Clary	Bryce Jordan Center (5,023) University Park, PA
December 29, 2023* 2:00 p.m., BTN Plus		Rider	W 90–63	7–6	29 – Clary	7 – Wahab	9 – Baldwin Jr.	Bryce Jordan Center (6,807) University Park, PA
January 4, 2024 7:00 p.m., Peacock		at Michigan State	L 61–92	7–7 (1–2)	21 – Clary	8 – Wahab	5 – Clary	Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI
January 7, 2024 12:00 p.m., BTN		vs. Michigan The Palestra Game	W 79–73	8–7 (2–2)	25 – Baldwin Jr.	8 – Kern Jr.	4 – Baldwin Jr.	The Palestra (6,200) Philadelphia, PA
January 10, 2024 6:30 p.m., BTN		Northwestern	L 72–76	8–8 (2–3)	25 – Clary	10 – Wahab	5 – Baldwin, Jr.	Bryce Jordan Center (7,822) University Park, PA
January 13, 2024 2:15 p.m., BTN		at No. 1 Purdue	L 78–95	8–9 (2–4)	18 – Kern Jr.	4 – Tied	13 – Baldwin Jr.	Mackey Arena (14,876) West Lafayette, IN
January 16, 2024 9:00 p.m., BTN		No. 11 Wisconsin	W 87–83	9–9 (3–4)	27 – Clary	6 – Lilley	5 – Baldwin Jr.	Bryce Jordan Center (8,462) University Park, PA
January 20, 2024 12:00 p.m., BTN		at Ohio State	L 67–79	9–10 (3–5)	16 – Tied	10 – Wahab	3 – Baldwin Jr.	Value City Arena (15,267) Columbus, OH
January 27, 2024 6:30 p.m., BTN		Minnesota	L 74–83	9–11 (3–6)	16 – Baldwin Jr.	5 – Wahab	6 – Baldwin Jr.	Bryce Jordan Center (12,336) University Park, PA
January 31, 2024 8:30 p.m., BTN		at Rutgers	W 61–46	10–11 (4–6)	15 – Baldwin Jr.	11 – Wahab	10 – Baldwin Jr.	Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000) Piscataway, NJ
February 3, 2024 12:00 p.m., FS1		at Indiana	W 85–71	11–11 (5–6)	22 – Baldwin Jr.	7 – Wahab	8 – Baldwin Jr.	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN
February 8, 2024 7:00 p.m., BTN		Iowa	W 89–79	12–11 (6–6)	22 – Baldwin Jr.	7 – Wahab	6 – Baldwin Jr.	Bryce Jordan Center (8,140) University Park, PA
February 11, 2024 1:00 p.m., BTN		at Northwestern	L 63–68	12–12 (6–7)	18 – Kern Jr.	7 – Kern Jr.	8 – Baldwin Jr.	Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,541) Evanston, IL
February 14, 2024 6:30 p.m., BTN		Michigan State	L 72–80	12–13 (6–8)	15 – Tied	4 – Tied	7 – Baldwin Jr.	Bryce Jordan Center (8,813) University Park, PA
February 17, 2024 12:00 p.m., BTN		at Nebraska	L 49–68	12–14 (6–9)	13 – Hicks	6 – Hicks	2 – Baldwin Jr.	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,751) Lincoln, NE
February 21, 2024 6:30 p.m., BTN		No. 12 Illinois Return to Rec	W 90–89	13–14 (7–9)	22 – Kern Jr.	8 – Hicks	12 – Baldwin Jr.	Rec Hall[4] (6,150) University Park, PA
February 24, 2024 12:00 p.m., BTN		Indiana	W 83–74	14–14 (8–9)	23 – Baldwin Jr.	11 – Wahab	9 – Baldwin Jr.	Bryce Jordan Center (11,578) University Park, PA
February 27, 2024 9:00 p.m., BTN		at Iowa	L 81–90	14–15 (8–10)	18 – Wahab	7 – Tied	9 – Baldwin Jr.	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (8,502) Iowa City, IA
March 2, 2024 3:15 p.m., BTN		at Minnesota	L 70–75	14–16 (8–11)	19 – Johnson	6 – Tied	8 – Baldwin Jr.	Williams Arena (11,318) Minneapolis, MN
March 10, 2024 7:30 p.m., BTN		Maryland	W 85–69	15–16 (9–11)	19 – Wahab	15 – Wahab	11 – Baldwin Jr.	Bryce Jordan Center (8,796) University Park, PA
Big Ten Tournament
March 13, 2024 9:00 p.m., Peacock	(11)	vs. (14) Michigan First round	W 66–57	16–16	20 – Hicks	8 – Wahab	6 – Baldwin Jr.	Target Center (12,379) Minneapolis, MN
March 14, 2024 9:00 p.m., BTN	(11)	vs. (6) Indiana Second round	L 59–61	16–17	16 – Johnson	9 – Wahab	6 – Baldwin Jr.	Target Center (12,338) Minneapolis, MN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Sources:^[5][6]

Rankings

See also: 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	—	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV
Coaches	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Notes

1. Clary was dismissed from the program on February 19.^[3]