The Big Ten conference announced single-play and double-play opponents this week with Penn State men’s basketball landing a fairly favorable draw of games from the conference. The Nittany Lions will – in total – face seven double-play opponents and six single-play opponents in the 20-game Big Ten men’s basketball slate.
For games set to occur on the road and at home within the walls of the Bryce Jordan Center, the Nittany Lions will face Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, Purdue, Rutgers and Wisconsin in 2022-23.
As for teams Penn State will play just once at home, the Nittany Lions are set to host Indiana, Iowa and Michigan State without any return trips. Alternatively, Penn State will face Minnesota, Northwestern and Ohio State on the road and will not host the Gophers, Wildcats or Buckeyes in State College.
Dates, television network assignments and tipoff times for the Big Ten contests will be announced later this year.
All things considered the slate of games is a cautiously optimistic draw for a Penn State team once again reloading with older talent out of the transfer portal and young prospects from the recruiting trail all while leaning on a core of veterans set to return for head coach Micah Shrewsberry’s second year at the helm of the program. The Nittany Lions avoiding road trips to Iowa, Indiana and Michigan State removes three of the more challenging venues in the conference from the schedule.
Similarly, road contests at Minnesota, Northwestern and Ohio State are of varying degrees of difficulty in a challenging conference, but all three places have seen Penn State come away with victories in recent years.
Like all things Big Ten basketball, nothing comes easy, but it certainly could have been much worse for Penn State on the scheduling front.
