The Big Ten announced its men’s basketball conference schedule today and, to put it bluntly, Penn State fans should be in an uproar. Arguably Penn State’s two biggest home games of the year, versus Purdue and Michigan State, will occur three days within each other. The dates? January 5 and January 8. The problem? Everyone will still be home on winter break, a schedule disappointment for all the seniors this year.

Katie Huber, president of Nittany Nation, had this to say on the situation:

“It’s understandable why people are upset about two big games being scheduled at home over winter break, especially with our recent upset rivalry with Michigan State. But since the schedule itself is out of our control, I challenge the student body to play the cards we’ve been dealt and join Nittany Nation in efforts to create an atmosphere worthy of beating either team. Purdue is Wednesday night and MSU is Saturday, so I expect lots of students to come back to campus early to help kick off the Big Ten season and watch what could be two of the most important games of the year. The team thrives off the energy at the Bryce Jordan Center, so let’s not let them down as they embark on a tough part of the schedule.”

Katie is absolutely right. This year’s team will need a crowd presence unlike any other to have a shot at pulling a few upsets and surprising teams all across the conference. Make the trip back to Happy Valley to help the guys on to victory!

Other schedule news and notes:
– Penn State and Indiana open the Big Ten slate on December 27 in Bloomington.
– Every conference game will be featured on television for the fourth straight year. The games will be featured on either the Big Ten Network or the ESPN family of networks.
– The games to be at if you can’t make it to Purdue and Michigan State: Saturday, January 29, vs. Wisconsin at 4 p.m. and Tuesday, March 1, vs. Ohio State at 9 p.m.

For the full conference schedule and analysis from NittanyWhiteOut, make sure to check this out.