Penn State men’s and women’s basketball will both host games at Rec Hall for a second consecutive season.
The Lady Lions will welcome Maryland on Jan. 29, Penn State Athletics announced on Wednesday. A day later, the Nittany Lion men will host Ohio State on Jan. 30 in the building that served as the team’s home arena from 1929 to 1996.
This will mark just the fifth time Penn State men’s basketball has played in Rec Hall since moving to the Bryce Jordan Center in 1996 and second for the Lady Lions.
The Nittany Lions most recently hosted No. 12 Illinois at the venue last season in a thrilling affair that concluded with a 90-89 upset victory and a court storming. The women’s team fell to No. 2 Ohio State in Rec Hall last February.
Penn State men’s basketball is 3-1 in games played at Rec Hall since moving to the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions narrowly fell in overtime to Princeton in 2013, but defeated Canisius and Louisiana Monroe at the venue in 2015.
The team’s complete Big Ten schedule was released last week. It includes a home opener against the national runner-up, a multi-game trip to the West Coast and two contests against a revamped Rutgers squad.
Penn State returns a number of key playmakers, such as Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Ace Baldwin Jr., in the second year under head coach Mike Rhoades, who helped the Nittany Lions to a 16-17 record last season.
