Are you ready for Penn State men’s basketball?

After a 15-16 regular season and 16-17 overall record last year, the Nittany Lions are set for their second season under Mike Rhoades.

Prior to the Nittany Lions tipping off their season against Binghamton on November 4, some of our staffers made their predictions about the team’s regular-season record and postseason chances.

Michael Siroty: 17-14, NIT Appearance

Hoops is so back. I truly believe this team has the pieces to be an NCAA Tournament, and despite it being in such a deep Big Ten conference, I think those pieces will come together to string together a good season. Ace Baldwin Jr., Puff Johnson, Nick Kern Jr., Zach Hicks, and D’Marco Dunn are all back, while many freshmen and transfers are poised to make an immediate impact. Penn State has a favorable non-conference schedule in which it can only afford to lose an absolute maximum of two games, but my prediction is a 10-1 non-conference start to the year.

Then, it gets to the hard part of the season: conference play. The Big Ten is loaded, and those 20 games won’t be easy. However, after browsing through the Nittany Lions’ opponents, I think they can sneak out of conference play with seven wins. A 17-14 record will barely keep Penn State out of the NCAA Tournament. However, don’t lose hope.

Let’s play ball.

Mitch Corcoran: 18-13, NIT Appearance

This is a big year for Mike Rhoades and Penn State men’s basketball. I think having a winning season will go a long way in developing a winning culture and I think the Nittany Lions will do just that this season.

Penn State showed some flashes last year but finished the regular season at 15-16. This year, I think the Nittany Lions have a more talented team with the transfer portal and high school additions and I think they all make an impact.

The Big Ten got a lot more challenging with the additions of USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington, but I still think Penn State can pull off a few upsets again this year. But because of the conference expansion, I’ve got Penn State winning one or two games in the Big Ten Tournament and making the NIT Tournament with a winning record.

CJ Gill: 19-12, NCAA Tournament Appearance

I have high expectations for the Nittany Lions in year two with Mike Rhoades. Penn State returns most of its production from a season ago. The return of Ace Baldwin Jr., Puff Johnson, and Nick Kern Jr., among others will bode well in a revamped Big Ten that has gotten even better post-expansion.

There will be growing pains and stretches of bad basketball with a team that has a lot of transfers and freshmen, but by February and March, the blue and white will go on a run. This team will be able to play fast and with lots of intensity. The Nittany Lions’ style of play will give opponents fits on both ends of the court and should help them steal a few games through the season.

CJ Doebler: 15-16, NIT Appearance

I don’t think the new Big Ten will be friendly to the Nittany Lions this year. The returning pieces of last year’s lineup will be big for Penn State men’s basketball, but it’ll be the class of transfers and freshmen that makes the difference for the Nittany Lions this year.

Not only do the newcomers to the conference bring strong teams, but Penn State will have to face two of them, USC and UCLA, on a road trip to Los Angeles in early February. While I’d like to say that the blue and white will see marked improvement and be a bubble team by the time Selection Sunday comes around, it’s more likely this team will end around .500 and towards the bottom of the Big Ten pack.

Keeley Lamm: 13-18, No Postseason Appearance

I’m typically an optimist. I am. However, I feel this year’s season will be unremarkable with less “new coach buzz” and fewer big-name transfer portal additions. I hope I’m lowballing the Mike Rhoades show, but I’m predicting Penn State to go 13-18 this season.

Kyra Birmingham: 19-12, NCAA Tournament Appearance

I think this season will be an improvement on last year. Mike Rhoades is finding his grounding in State College heading into his second year, and Penn State has a lot of new players to support its returning leaders from last season. 

Aidan Conrad: 18-13, NCAA Tournament Appearance

Many are criminally underrating this team in the preseason. Nearly the entire team is returning for the Nittany Lions, and with the added experience with each other and under Rhoades’ system, they’ll perform better as a group this season. I can envision this team being on the bubble at the end of the season and winning two games in the Big Ten Tournament, which helps sneak them into the NCAA Tournament as an 11-seed.

Fernando Martinez Ruiz De Esparza: 20-11, NCAA Tournament Appearance

After ending last season with a losing record, I think the Nittany Lions will improve their record this season. This team will be much better than last year as they are bringing back a lot of veterans from last year like Ace Baldwin Jr. This is huge because they will have chemistry when the season starts, and they are bringing recruits and transfers that will help them like Kachi Nzeh. With Mike Rhoades at the helm and having a year under his belt with this team, I think they have a lot of great expectations.

I expect the Nittany Lions to get off to a fast start at the beginning, but when their Big Ten schedule starts, that’s when the losses will start to pile up. The Big Ten is always brutal, and there are so many good teams in this conference, especially with the expansion. However, I think Penn State will get enough quality wins in Big Ten play. I expect them to make it into the Big Ten Tournament and win two games at the least, which will get them into the semifinals of the tournament. With the resume that they will have at the end of the season, I think it will be enough for them to make it back to March Madness this year.

Dillon Williams: 18-13, NCAA Tournament Appearance

2023-24 was the first year of the Mike Rhoades era at Penn State. This year will build off the foundation that Rhoades and his staff cultivated last year.

They’re getting back the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year while also adding new faces such as Freddie Dilione and Yanic Konan Niederhauser. The team is bought in on getting back to the NCAA Tournament.

Look for big seasons from the returning seniors on this roster and some promising seasons from the freshmen that Rhoades recruited for the year. I expect a slight improvement from last year’s 16-17 record as they’ll go 18-13 in the regular season.

Evan Halfen: 17-14, NCAA Tournament Appearance

I think Penn State will be on the come-up this season. Last year, the Nittany Lions faced many changes, creating more obstacles to overcome that could explain their overall season performance. After navigating a new coach and several transfer portal additions, I think the team will find a good balance and rhythm this year as the season carries on. Hopefully, the team will use that momentum to compete in the NCAA tournament. My hopes aren’t super high, but I do have some faith in them.

Ally Eaton: 18-13, NCAA Appearance

I feel confident that the Mike Rhoades era hype has enough energy to transcend into his second season in Happy Valley. 18-13 puts the Nittany Lions at an improvement from last year, which I think is realistic thanks to the foundation the program has created with key returning faces. I think this year’s newcomers will only enhance the team dynamic and propel this team to an NCAA Tournament appearance as well.

Joe Lister: 21-10, NCAA Tournament Appearance

Folks, you just have to believe.

Mike Rhoades is going to go down as one of Penn State’s best-ever men’s basketball coaches. If Micah Shrewsberry that other guy could make the NCAA Tournament in his second season, so can Rhoades. I don’t give a damn who they’re playing, give me the Nittany Lions.