The Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team representing the Pennsylvania State University. They play home games at the 15,261-seat Bryce Jordan Center, moving there from Rec Hall during the 1995–96 season. Their student cheering section is known as the Legion of Blue.
The team played its first season of basketball in 1897, finishing with a 1-1 record after playing Bucknell twice. They lost the first game 4-24, and won the second 10-7. The team went without a formal head coach until Burke Hermann in 1916.[2]
The program has ten NCAA tournament appearances with its best finish coming in 1954, reaching the Final Four. Its most recent appearance was in 2023, when the team beat Texas A&M in the first round. The program also has 11 appearances in the National Invitation Tournament, with the most recent being in 2018, when they beat Utah to win the NIT championship. They also won the NIT championship in 2009.
The Nittany Lions have appeared in the NCAA tournament 10 times. Their combined record is 10–11.
The Nittany Lions have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 11 times. Their combined record is 27–9. They were NIT champions in 2009 and 2018.
The Nittany Lions have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) once. Their record is 1–1.
+ 2020 B1G Tournament and 2020 NCAA Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic.
** denotes active player.
The following is a list of undrafted Penn State players who have played at least one NBA regular or post-season game. Bold denotes players with active NBA or NBA G League contracts.
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