During Penn State men’s basketball’s comeback victory over Purdue Fort Wayne last month, Mike Rhoades turned to the student section and spurred the group to get on their feet and make noise.

After the game, he delivered an impassioned speech, asking fans to help build the program with him and to “sweat with us.” The Purdue Fort Wayne contest was the Nittany Lions’ fifth straight victory to open the season, and a win over Fordham the next week pushed the group to its first 6-0 start since 1999.

Even after a loss to Clemson in the final of the Sunshine Slam, anticipation continued to grow around the program. After a convincing win over Buffalo, the Nittany Lions were set to open Big Ten play at home against No. 8 Purdue. While the Nittany Lions had cruised through the preseason schedule relatively unscathed, a matchup with the Boilermakers would prove whether or not Penn State could hold its own through the conference schedule.

In the leadup to the game, the team leaned on the “sweat with us” message, and Penn State Athletics even sent an email blast to students urging them to come to the big matchup Thursday night. They did.

“This was an awesome college basketball crowd,” Rhoades said postgame. “From the bottom of my heart, from the whole program, we have great appreciation for everyone who was a part of this tonight.”

The crowd made an impact instantly on Thursday night after Purdue won the tip and took the ball to the end of the court occupied by the Legion of Blue. Purdue’s Trey Kaufman-Renn missed the game’s opening shot, and Puff Johson grabbed the rebound as the crowd crescendoed with the early stop.

Purdue tried to quiet the crowd and jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, but the Nittany Lions tied the game up at 7-7 and never looked back. Entering halftime with a 16-point lead, Penn State never allowed the Boilermakers back into the game and cruised to an 11-point upset of a top-10 squad.

There were no late-game heroics, no fouling down the stretch to keep the game alive, and no timeouts to draw up plays as students began lining up to storm the court with a little over two minutes left in the game. Mobbed in a sea of blue and white after the game, Rhoades held court.

“These are the memories we’re going to make at Penn State,” Rhoades said over the public address system. “Keep coming back, this is what we’re gonna do.”

Mike Rhoades took to the microphone during the court storming after @PennStateMBB’s upset of No. 8 Purdue.

“Keep coming back. This is what we’re gonna do.” pic.twitter.com/Ao8G3GbY7T

— Onward State (@OnwardState) December 6, 2024

While the difference was 11 points at the end of the game, the Nittany Lions’ performance was much more dominant than the final score showed. With just under 12 minutes left in the game, Penn State held a 26-point lead. Purdue was limited in all areas of the court Thursday night as it coughed up 24 turnovers, the most the Boilermakers have had all season.

While Purdue closed the gap near the end of the game, it was never really in question. Even when things weren’t going the Nittany Lions’ way, the crowd never lost focus.

“It was one of the best crowds I’ve seen here at Penn State,” Puff Johnson said. “The student section had the lower bowl filled and they had it all the way up behind the basket. That’s big time.”

Next up on the Nittany Lions’ schedule is a road trip to New Jersey to take on Rutgers before returning home to play Coppin State on December 14. But even after such an emotional win that could set the tone for the rest of the season, there’s still only one thing Rhoades wants to accomplish.

“Get better tomorrow,” he said.