Big Ten Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2024-25 season

16. Penn State Nittany Lions

2023-24 season record: 16-17 (9-11 Big Ten)

Coach Mike Rhoades ended up being around .500 on the season overall in his first year with the program, thanks to Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year guard and leading scorer, Ace Baldwin Jr. He averaged 14.2 ppg and 6.0 apg and was the main bright spot on the team.

So was Kanye Clary, the breakout sophomore guard who led the team with 16.7 ppg before parting ways with the team in the season. He’s now at Missisppi State while starting center Qudus Wahab ran out of eligibility. 

Four other rotation pieces are returning for the Nittany Lions in Puff Johnson, D’Marco Dunn, Nick Kern Jr., and Zack Hicks. They’ll need at least one of them to break out into a double-digit scoring option to help out Baldwin.

Penn State has added four transfers from the portal including most notably, Tennessee transfer Freddie Dillone. If the former four-star prospect can break out at his new stop, the Lions will have a backcourt good enough to compete in the Big Ten. Look for Northern Illinois transfer Yanic Konan Neiderhauser to have an impact in the frontcourt as well.