Penn State men’s basketball doesn’t exactly have a ton of tradition.

The university it’s attached to might, but the Nittany Lions still have some ways to go before cementing themselves as one of college hoops’ more notable programs. They’ve only been to 10 NCAA Tournaments in program history and have a losing record in the tournament. Penn State isn’t even the most notable program in Pennsylvania. Nor is it second-most or third-most.

But the Nittany Lions, led by their third head coach in the last four years, will once again become part of Pennsylvania basketball history when they step foot inside The Palestra in Philadelphia in just one day.

For Penn State itself, situated three hours away from the spot known as the “Cathedral of College Basketball,” there isn’t much of a connection to the building that’s used to host Penn basketball, but for the individuals within the program, the 96-year-old structure means so much.

Head coach Mike Rhoades, a Pennsylvanian who loves his home state so much he brought “Schuylkill County Day” as a promotional event to Penn State, will coach his first game in an arena he’s admired from afar and within.

“It’s an absolute honor and privilege to be able to coach Penn State there on Sunday,” Rhoades said Friday. “It’s a special treat for our players, really cool weekend for our fans. And it’s a way to show off our program in a place where college basketball has such a strong, storied history.”

Rhoades, who’s painted himself as a Pennsylvania and Big Ten basketball junkie since he arrived on campus just a few months ago, has a reverence for The Palestra, even if he grew up some distance from the space. Some of Rhoades’ players, however, grew up just down the road.

Sophomores Demetrius Lilley and Jameel Brown both hail from the City of Brotherly Love. Both come from notable Philadelphia high schools. Lilley attended Lower Merion, the same school that produced Kobe Bryant. Brown’s alma mater of Westtown, a small Quaker school outside of West Chester, has produced the likes of Mo Bamba, Cam Reddish, and Dereck Lively II. The two said it’s shaped their game and how they play at Penn State.

“Philadelphia basketball is a whole different thing,” Lilley said. “If you’re from Philadelphia, you want to play hard, you have to give it all you have, you have to work hard at all times. Being from Philadelphia, the basketball standpoint, it’s just a different breed.”

“There are not a lot of basketball gyms in Philadelphia. You have to go to the park and play in the park,” Brown added. “You get toughened up, you get roughened up, you get pushed down. It’s taught us how to get back on our feet.

Lilley and Brown have watched their share of basketball at The Palestra, as has Rhoades. But nobody else with Penn State has a greater connection to the arena than assistant coach Jimmy Martelli.

Martelli is the son of Philadelphia basketball legend Phil Martelli. Phil Martelli, now coaching against the Nittany Lions on Sunday with Michigan, spent 24 years at the helm of St. Joe’s basketball. He led the Hawks to seven NCAA Tournaments and brought the 2003-04 Hawks to become one of the best teams the school ever produced. Jimmy Martelli saw it all from the sidelines and the TV as he often took in the rich history of the building his father graced a few times a year.

“The building itself just means so much to college basketball,” Martelli said. “To me, college basketball was about The Palestra on a Saturday afternoon, and it could be 10º outside, but it was always hot.”

Now, both father and son will be back in the building where the Martelli name won’t soon be forgotten. The profile of the two programs, despite both hailing from the Big Ten, is radically different. Michigan’s 6-8 start to the season is a downswing, while Penn State’s 7-7 record isn’t far from the norm.

Phil Martelli will work to notch one more win in an already long list of victories for the Wolverines. Jimmy Martelli will try to help build a team at a school crying out for a strong men’s basketball program to support. Sentimentally, Jimmy Martelli expects an experience at The Palestra that, like the Martellis themselves, won’t soon be forgotten.

“There are so many different memories, and this one might be on the top,” Jimmy Martelli said. “To sit and wear Penn State on my chest is a badge of honor, coming from the state and so to be able to play against a team like Michigan and obviously [with] my dad on the other sideline, this memory will probably go right to the top.”