Penn State Basketball: 5 key reasons behind surprise start to 2024-25 season

The Penn State Nittany Lions, fresh off a prodigious 81-70 victory over Purdue, are among NCAA basketball’s top early-season surprises in the first month of the 2024-25 college basketball season. At 8-1 (1-0) under its second season with Mike Rhoades, Penn State has shown that its fast start is not a fluke -- and the Nittany Lions are poised to be major players throughout Big Ten play and beyond.

But why is this the case? After all, Penn State was projected to finish just 17th in the new-look 18-team Big Ten. Simply put, this was a team that wasn't expected (among many, including myself) to even make the 15-team Big Ten Tournament field come March. But based on its white-hot start, that doesn’t look like the case anymore.

Here, we will examine Penn State’s impressive start and outline five key reasons why the Nittany Lions have begun to surpass preseason expectations.

1. The Ace Baldwin Jr. effect 

It goes without saying: The return of Ace Baldwin Jr. -- the reigning 2023-24 Big Ten DPOY -- has paid dividends for Mike Rhoades’ squad. Baldwin, averaging 15.1 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 8.1 APG and 2.1 SPG, has catapulted his name into the All-American conversation. According to EvanMiya’s player ratings, Baldwin ranks as the 4th-best player in NCAA basketball -- the highest player rank in the entire Big Ten.

Having a fifth-year veteran guard on one’s roster is always a plus. Having that guard make an impact on all ends of the floor? That’s even better. I call it: The Ace Baldwin effect.