# 2000–01 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team

The 2000–01 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 2000–01 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by head coach Jerry Dunn, in his sixth 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 21–12, 7–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a two-way tie for 6th place. They defeated Michigan and Michigan State before losing to Iowa in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament. They received a bid to the 2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament where they defeated Providence and North Carolina before losing to Temple in the Sweet 16.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| November 22* | Loyola (MD) | W 87–58 | 1–0 | Bryce Jordan Center University Park, Pennsylvania |
| November 25* | at Kentucky | W 73–68 | 2–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| November 29* | at North Carolina State | L 76–84 | 2–1 | RBC Center Raleigh, NC |
| December 2* | Penn | W 84–74 | 3–1 | Bryce Jordan Center University Park, Pennsylvania |
| December 6* | Pittsburgh | W 88–74 | 4–1 | Bryce Jordan Center University Park, Pennsylvania |
| December 9* | Temple | W 66–60 | 5–1 | Bryce Jordan Center University Park, Pennsylvania |
| December 18* | Wagner | W 100–91 | 6–1 | Bryce Jordan Center University Park, Pennsylvania |
| December 22* | Bucknell | W 82–72 | 7–1 | Bryce Jordan Center University Park, Pennsylvania |
| December 26* | vs. Princeton | W 65–52 | 8–1 | Madison Square Garden New York City, NY |
| December 27* | vs. Hofstra | W 74–71 | 9–1 | Madison Square Garden New York City, NY |
| January 3 | vs. No. 1 Michigan State | L 73–98 | 9–2 (0–1) | Breslin Student Events Center East Lansing, Michigan |
| January 6 | Iowa | L 85–86 | 9–3 (0–2) | Bryce Jordan Center University Park, Pennsylvania |
| January 10 | at Ohio State | W 78–75 | 10–3 (1–2) | Value City Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| January 13 | Northwestern | W 73–66 | 11–3 (2–2) | Bryce Jordan Center University Park, Pennsylvania |
| January 17 | at Indiana | L 69–77 | 11–4 (2–3) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| January 20 | at No. 11 Illinois | L 60–92 | 11–5 (2–4) | Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois |
| January 23* | at Yale | W 90–75 | 12–5 (2–4) | Payne Whitney Gymnasium New Haven, CT |
| January 27 | at No. 15 Wisconsin | L 58–63 | 12–6 (2–5) | Kohl Center Madison, WI |
| January 31 | No. 6 Illinois | W 98–95 $^{OT}$ | 13–6 (3–5) | Bryce Jordan Center University Park, Pennsylvania |
| February 3 | Indiana | L 78–85 $^{OT}$ | 13–7 (3–6) | Bryce Jordan Center University Park, Pennsylvania |
| February 7 | Michigan | W 77–66 | 14–7 (4–6) | Bryce Jordan Center University Park, Pennsylvania |
| February 14 | at Minnesota | W 82–62 | 15–7 (5–6) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| February 17 | Purdue | W 92–71 | 16–7 (6–6) | Bryce Jordan Center University Park, Pennsylvania |
| February 21 | at Northwestern | L 61–62 | 16–8 (6–7) | Welsh–Ryan Arena Evanston, Illinois |
| February 24 | Michigan State | L 57–76 | 16–9 (6–8) | Bryce Jordan Center University Park, Pennsylvania |
| March 1 | at Iowa | W 78–73 | 17–9 (7–8) | Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, Iowa |
| March 3 | Ohio State | L 87–93 | 17–10 (7–9) | Bryce Jordan Center University Park, Pennsylvania |
| Big Ten tournament ||||||
| March 8 | vs. Michigan | W 82–80 | 18–10 (7–9) | United Center Chicago, Illinois |
| March 9 | vs. No. 2 Michigan State | W 65–63 | 19–10 (7–9) | United Center Chicago, Illinois |
| March 10 | vs. Iowa | L 74–94 | 19–11 (7–9) | United Center Chicago, Illinois |
| 2001 NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 16* | vs. Providence | W 69–59 | 20–11 (7–9) | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana |
| March 18* | vs. North Carolina | W 82–74 | 21–11 (7–9) | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana |
| March 23* | vs. Temple South Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | L 72–84 | 21–12 (7–9) | Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||