2018–19 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team

The 2018–19 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by head coach Pat Chambers, in his eighth season with the team, and played their home games at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pennsylvania as members of the Big Ten Conference. The Lions finished the season 14–18, 7–13 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for 10th place. They lost to Minnesota in the second round of the Big Ten tournament.

2018–19 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record14–18 (7–13 Big Ten)
Head coach
Associate head coachKeith Urgo
Assistant coaches
Home arenaBryce Jordan Center
Seasons
2018–19 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 5 Michigan State 16 4   .800 32 7   .821
No. 13 Purdue 16 4   .800 26 10   .722
No. 8 Michigan 15 5   .750 30 7   .811
No. 21 Wisconsin 14 6   .700 23 11   .676
Maryland 13 7   .650 23 11   .676
Iowa 10 10   .500 23 12   .657
Minnesota 9 11   .450 22 14   .611
Ohio State 8 12   .400 20 15   .571
Indiana 8 12   .400 19 16   .543
Penn State 7 13   .350 14 18   .438
Illinois 7 13   .350 12 21   .364
Rutgers 7 13   .350 14 17   .452
Nebraska 6 14   .300 19 17   .528
Northwestern 4 16   .200 13 19   .406
2019 Big Ten tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

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The Nittany Lions finished the 2017–18 season 26–13, 9–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for sixth place. In the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Northwestern and Ohio State before losing to Purdue in the semifinals. They received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Temple, Notre Dame, Marquette, and Mississippi State to advance to the NIT championship where they defeated Utah to become NIT champions.

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Nazeer Bostick 4 G 6'4" 203 Sophomore Philadelphia, PA Transferred to St. Peter's
Tony Carr 10 G 6'5" 204 Sophomore Philadelphia, PA Declared for the 2018 NBA draft; selected 51st overall by the New Orleans Pelicans
Shep Garner 33 G 6'2" 196 Senior Philadelphia, PA Graduated
Julian Moore 44 F 6'10" 248 RS Senior Fort Washington, PA Graduated

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Izaiah Brockington 12 G 6'4" 180 Sophomore Philadelphia, PA St. Bonaventure

2018 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Myles Dread
#29 SG
Burtonsville, MD Gonzaga College High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jul 10, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
Rasir Bolton
#29 PG
Virginia Beach, VA Huntington Prep 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jul 23, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
Daniil Kasatkin
G
Ivanovo, Russia Mountain Mission 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Nov 21, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPNN/A
Myreon Jones
#30 SG
Birmingham, AL Lincoln Academy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) May 2, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPNN/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

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2018–19 Penn State Nittany Lions men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Myreon Jones 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Lincoln Academy Birmingham, AL
F 1 Deividas Zemgulis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr St. Mary Ryken Kaunas, Lithuania
G 2 Myles Dread 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Gonzaga Burtonsville, MD
F/C 3 Satchel Pierce 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) RS Sr The Kiski School
Virginia Tech
Barberton, OH
G 4 Daniil Kasatkin 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Mountain Mission Vichuga, Russia
G 5 Jamari Wheeler 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Rock School Gainesville, FL
G 10 Kyle McCloskey (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Fr Germantown Academy Lower Gwynedd, PA
G/F 11 Lamar Stevens 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 226 lb (103 kg) Jr Roman Catholic Philadelphia, PA
G 12 Izaiah Brockington   6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Archbishop Ryan
St. Bonaventure
Philadelphia, PA
G 13 Rasir Bolton 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Massanutten Academy Petersburg, VA
F 21 John Harrar 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 243 lb (110 kg) So Strath Haven Atlanta, GA
F 22 Grant Hazle (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Jr Westbury Christian Kingwood, TX
G 23 Josh Reaves 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Oak Hill Academy Fairfax, VA
F/C 24 Mike Watkins 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 254 lb (115 kg) RS Jr Phelps School Philadelphia, PA
F 35 Trent Buttrick 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 234 lb (106 kg) So Community School of Naples (Fla.) Bloomsburg, PA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Coaching staff

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Position Name Year Alma mater
Head coach Patrick Chambers 2011 Philadelphia University (1994)
Associate head coach Keith Urgo 2011 Fairfield University (2002)
Assistant Coach Kevin Freeman 2018 University of Connecticut (2000)
Assistant Coach Jim Ferry 2017 Keene State (1990)
Director of Basketball Operations Ross Condon 2011 Villanova University (2007)
On campus recruiting coordinator Nicholas Colella 2015 Penn State (2013)
Athletic trainer Jon Salazer 2001 Penn State (1993)
Director of player development David Caporaletti 2011 Philadelphia University (1993)
Strength and conditioning coach Greg Miskinis 2009 Penn State (2008)
Graduate Manager Stephen Griffin 2017 Philadelphia University (2014)
Graduate Manager Kevin Hudash 2018 Penn State (2017)

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 3, 2018*
12:00 pm, ATTSNPT
at No. 13 West Virginia
Charity Exhibition
W 84–82 
 23  Dread   11  Stevens   5  Wheeler  WVU Coliseum (9,517)
Morgantown, WV
Regular season
November 9, 2018*
7:30 pm, BTN Plus
North Florida
Cancún Challenge
W 87–72  1–0
 22  Stevens   10  Stevens   6  Bolton  Bryce Jordan Center (9,060)
University Park, PA
November 12, 2018*
7:00 pm, BTN
Jacksonville State
Cancún Challenge
W 76–61  2–0
 25  Tied   9  Stevens   3  Stevens  Bryce Jordan Center (7,722)
University Park, PA
November 15, 2018*
9:00 pm, FS1
at DePaul
Gavitt Tipoff Games
L 70–72 OT 2–1
 25  Stevens   12  Stevens   8  Reaves  Wintrust Arena (3,926)
Chicago, IL
November 20, 2018*
8:30 pm, CBSSN
vs. Wright State
Cancún Challenge Riviera Division semifinals
W 77–59  3–1
 25  Stevens   10  Reaves   4  Wheeler  Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya 
Cancún, Mexico
November 21, 2018*
8:30 pm, CBSSN
vs. Bradley
Cancún Challenge Riviera Division championship
L 56–59  3–2
 27  Stevens   9  Reaves   3  Stevens  Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (1,473)
Cancún, Mexico
November 27, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 13 Virginia Tech
ACC–Big Ten Challenge
W 63–62  4–2
 18  Jones   8  Stevens   3  Tied  Bryce Jordan Center (8,373)
University Park, PA
December 1, 2018
5:00 pm, BTN
at No. 24 Maryland L 59–66  4–3
(0–1)
 19  Stevens   8  Stevens   2  Tied  Xfinity Center (15,481)
College Park, MD
December 4, 2018
7:00 pm, BTN
Indiana L 62–64  4–4
(0–2)
 17  Bolton   10  Stevens   3  Reaves  Bryce Jordan Center (8,972)
University Park, PA
December 8, 2018*
7:00 pm, BTN Plus
Colgate W 76–65  5–4
 27  Bolton   16  Watkins   5  Reaves  Bryce Jordan Center (8,056)
University Park, PA
December 15, 2018*
2:00 pm, ESPNU
vs. NC State
Boardwalk Classic
L 78–89  5–5
 25  Bolton   6  Stevens   5  Dread  Boardwalk Hall (N/A)
Atlantic City, NJ
December 19, 2018*
7:00 pm, CBSSN
vs. Duquesne
PPG Paints Arena Showcase
W 73–67  6–5
 25  Stevens   12  Watkins   3  Reaves  PPG Paints Arena (2,537)
Pittsburgh, PA
December 21, 2018*
9:00 pm, SECN
at Alabama L 64–73  6–6
 13  Buttrick   8  Watkins   3  Tied  Coleman Coliseum (10,142)
Tuscaloosa, AL
December 29, 2018*
1:00 pm, BTN Plus
UMBC W 74–52  7–6
 18  Bolton   7  Stevens   5  Reaves  Bryce Jordan Center (9,042)
University Park, PA
January 3, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN
at No. 2 Michigan L 55–68  7–7
(0–3)
 19  Watkins   12  Watkins   3  Reaves  Crisler Center (12,707)
Ann Arbor, MI
January 6, 2019
7:30 pm, BTN
No. 22 Wisconsin L 52–71  7–8
(0–4)
 22  Stevens   10  Watkins   5  Bolton  Bryce Jordan Center (8,342)
University Park, PA
January 10, 2019
9:00 pm, ESPN2
at Nebraska L 64–70  7–9
(0–5)
 20  Reaves   14  Watkins   3  Stevens  Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,753)
Lincoln, NE
January 13, 2019
4:30 pm, CBS
No. 6 Michigan State L 56–71  7–10
(0–6)
 20  Stevens   7  Watkins   9  Reaves  Bryce Jordan Center (10,196)
University Park, PA
January 16, 2019
7:00 pm, BTN
No. 23 Iowa L 82–89  7–11
(0–7)
 16  Reaves   11  Watkins   7  Tied  Bryce Jordan Center (7,733)
University Park, PA
January 19, 2019
8:30 pm, BTN
at Minnesota L 64–65  7–12
(0–8)
 27  Stevens   9  Watkins   4  Reaves  Williams Arena (11,042)
Minneapolis, MN
January 26, 2019
4:30 pm, BTN
Rutgers L 60–64  7–13
(0–9)
 21  Stevens   9  Watkins   4  Wheeler  Bryce Jordan Center (13,366)
University Park, PA
January 31, 2019
6:30 pm, FS1
No. 17 Purdue L 90–99 OT 7–14
(0–10)
 24  Stevens   11  Watkins   4  Tied  Bryce Jordan Center (8,961)
University Park, PA
February 4, 2019
8:00 pm, FS1
at Northwestern W 59–52  8–14
(1–10)
 18  Stevens   7  Stevens   6  Stevens  Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,541)
Evanston, IL
February 7, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN
at Ohio State L 70–74  8–15
(1–11)
 20  Tied   12  Stevens   3  Wheeler  Value City Arena (15,824)
Columbus, OH
February 12, 2019
8:30 pm, BTN
No. 6 Michigan W 75–69  9–15
(2–11)
 26  Stevens   12  Stevens   4  Wheeler  Bryce Jordan Center (9,120)
University Park, PA
February 16, 2019
4:00 pm, BTN
at No. 12 Purdue L 64–76  9–16
(2–12)
 18  Stevens   6  Stevens   2  Tied  Mackey Arena (14,804)
West Lafayette, IN
February 19, 2019
7:00 pm, FS1
Nebraska W 95–71  10–16
(3–12)
 29  Stevens   8  Stevens   5  Tied  Bryce Jordan Center (8,049)
University Park, PA
February 23, 2019
12:00 pm, BTN
at Illinois W 83–76  11–16
(4–12)
 25  Stevens   12  Watkins   5  Wheeler  State Farm Center (15,544)
Champaign, IL
February 27, 2019
6:30 pm, BTN
No. 17 Maryland W 78–61  12–16
(5–12)
 24  Stevens   5  Tied   7  Wheeler  Bryce Jordan Center (9,020)
University Park, PA
March 2, 2019
1:00 pm, BTN
at No. 19 Wisconsin L 57-61  12-17
(5-13)
 22  Stevens   10  Stevens   4  Wheeler  Kohl Center (17,287)
Madison, WI
March 6, 2019
7:00 pm, BTN
at Rutgers W 66-65  13–17
(6–13)
 18  Stevens   14  Watkins   2  Tied  Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,000)
Piscataway, NJ
March 10, 2019
12:00 pm, FS1
Illinois W 72–56  14–17
(7–13)
 26  Reaves   11  Reaves   9  Wheeler  Bryce Jordan Center (9,678)
University Park, PA
Big Ten tournament
March 14, 2019
7:00 pm, BTN
(10) vs. (7) Minnesota
Second round
L 72–77 OT 14–18
 24  Stevens   7  Tied   5  Reaves  United Center 
Chicago, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

References

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