Penn State basketball’s path through the Big Ten takes shape

On a day the Penn State men’s basketball program officially introduced a new assistant coach in Dwayne Stephens and welcomed another international addition to its roster in Alexsandar Zecevic, it also learned the first outline of its 2026-27 Big Ten schedule.

Announced by the conference Tuesday afternoon, the Nittany Lions now know which opponents they’ll face once – seven at home and seven on the road – as well as the three Big Ten foes they’ll play both home and away.

Dates, tipoff times and television assignments have yet to be announced, but the opponent breakdown is as follows (final NCAA NET rankings in parentheses):

Penn State 2026-27 Big Ten opponents

Home and away: Nebraska (12), Ohio State (30), Rutgers (136)

Home only: Indiana (41), Maryland (131), Michigan (1), Northwestern (61), Oregon (107), Purdue (8), Washington (55)

Away only: Illinois (5), Iowa (22), Minnesota (82), Michigan State (11), UCLA (31), USC (77), Wisconsin (27)

Big Ten teams in the 2026 NCAA Tournament

Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Purdue, UCLA and Wisconsin

Evaluating Penn State’s Big Ten slate

The good news for Penn State and head coach Mike Rhoades first: The Nittany Lions will face national champion Michigan only once during the 2026-27 season, and that matchup will come at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Another positive for Penn State is its double-play slate of Nebraska, Ohio State and Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights finished the 2025-26 season as the next-lowest Big Ten team in the NCAA NET rankings behind Penn State, matching the Nittany Lions with a 14-20 overall record. And, in drawing Ohio State twice, Penn State gets one of its closest geographical conference opponents for a home-and-away series.

Also of note, Penn State’s annual West Coast swing will remain in Los Angeles this season, with road trips to both UCLA and USC instead of last season’s split between Oregon and Washington.

On the more challenging end of the spectrum, Penn State’s remaining single-play road games present significant hurdles based on both program history and recent results in those venues. Though the Nittany Lions earned their first-ever win at Wisconsin’s Kohl Center to close the 2024-25 regular season, success has otherwise been limited against the Badgers and at Michigan State, where Penn State is 2-17 all-time.

Where things stand for Penn State

Guards Jay Rodgers, Reggie Grodin, Roberts Blums, Brant Byers, Thomas Allard, Andy Gemao
Wings Roko Prkačin, François Wibaut, Chris Lotito
Bigs Ivan Juric, Timothy Oboh, Alexsander Zecevic

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