# 2019–20 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team

The 2019–20 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by head coach Pat Chambers, in his ninth 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. They finished the season 21–10, 11–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a four-way tie for fifth place. Their season ended following the cancellation of postseason tournaments due to the coronavirus pandemic.

## Previous season

The Nittany Lions finished the 2018–19 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.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Deividas Zemgulis | 1 | F | 6'6" | 220 | Senior | Kaunas, Lithuania | Graduated |
| Satchel Pierce | 3 | F/C | 7'0" | 255 | RS Senior | Barberton, OH | Graduated |
| Daniil Kasatkin | 4 | G | 6'7" | 205 | Freshman | Vichuga, Russia | Pursue to play professional basketball |
| Rasir Bolton | 13 | G | 6'2" | 175 | Freshman | Petersburg, VA | Transferred to Iowa State |
| Josh Reaves | 23 | G | 6'4" | 210 | Senior | Fairfax, VA | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Curtis Jones | 4 | G | 6'4" | 185 | Senior | Richmond, VA | Oklahoma State |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2019 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Seth Lundy SF | Philadelphia, PA | Roman Catholic High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Oct 5, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Abdou Tsimbila C | Hagerstown, MD | St Maria Goretti High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Jul 10, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Patrick Kelly PF | Lynchburg, VA | Virginia Episcopal School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Feb 2, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| 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: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

#### 2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2020) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Dallion Johnson SG | Haverhill, MA | Phillips Academy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Jul 15, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| 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: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Roster
### Coaching staff

| 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 | K.J. Baptiste | 2019 | Brandeis University (2018) |
| Graduate Manager | Kevin Hudash | 2018 | Penn State (2017) |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 5, 2019* 7:00 p.m., BTN Plus | | Maryland Eastern Shore | W 84–46 | 1–0 | 17 – Stevens | 11 – Watkins | 6 – M. Jones | Bryce Jordan Center (5,869) University Park, PA |
| November 9, 2019* 4:00 p.m., BTN Plus | | Wagner | W 91–64 | 2–0 | 14 – M. Jones | 8 – Watkins | 5 – Dread | Bryce Jordan Center (6,372) University Park, PA |
| November 14, 2019* 6:30 p.m., FS1 | | at Georgetown Gavitt Tipoff Games | W 81–66 | 3–0 | 21 – M. Jones | 9 – Stevens | 5 – Wheeler | Capital One Arena (8,691) Washington, D.C. |
| November 19, 2019* 6:30 p.m., BTN | | Bucknell NIT Season Tip-Off | W 98–70 | 4–0 | 27 – Stevens | 8 – Stevens | 4 – Tied | Bryce Jordan Center (6,797) University Park, PA |
| November 23, 2019* 4:00 pm, BTN Plus | | Yale NIT Season Tip-Off | W 58–56 | 5–0 | 15 – Brockington | 13 – Stevens | 4 – Jones | Bryce Jordan Center (6,091) University Park, PA |
| November 27, 2019* 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Ole Miss NIT Season Tip-Off semifinal | L 72–74 | 5–1 | 22 – Stevens | 12 – Watkins | 5 – M. Jones | Barclays Center (4,114) Brooklyn, NY |
| November 29, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Syracuse NIT Season Tip-Off 3rd place game | W 85–64 | 6–1 | 20 – Stevens | 15 – Watkins | 4 – Stevens | Barclays Center (4,159) Brooklyn, NY |
| December 4, 2019* 9:15 p.m., ESPNU | | Wake Forest ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 76–54 | 7–1 | 22 – M. Jones | 16 – Watkins | 3 – Tied | Bryce Jordan Center (6,476) University Park, PA |
| December 7, 2019 12:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 6 Ohio State | L 74–106 | 7–2 (0–1) | 19 – Brockington | 3 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Value City Arena (12,901) Columbus, OH |
| December 10, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | No. 4 Maryland | W 76–69 | 8–2 (1–1) | 15 – Tied | 11 – Watkins | 6 – Jones | Bryce Jordan Center (8,643) University Park, PA |
| December 14, 2019* 2:00 p.m., BTN | | Alabama | W 73–71 | 9–2 | 18 – Stevens | 11 – Stevens | 6 – Stevens | Bryce Jordan Center (7,736) University Park, PA |
| December 20, 2019* 6:00 p.m., BTN | No. 23 | Central Connecticut | W 87–58 | 10–2 | 21 – M. Jones | 8 – Watkins | 7 – Wheeler | Bryce Jordan Center (6,404) University Park, PA |
| December 29, 2019* 12:00 p.m., ESPNU | No. 20 | Cornell | W 90–59 | 11–2 | 19 – Tied | 10 – Watkins | 4 – Tied | Bryce Jordan Center (8,316) University Park, PA |
| January 4, 2020 2:00 p.m., BTN | No. 21 | vs. No. 23 Iowa | W 89–86 | 12–2 (2–1) | 23 – Brockington | 7 – Dread | 4 – Dread | Palestra (7,881) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 7, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN | No. 20 | at Rutgers | L 61–72 | 12–3 (2–2) | 21 – M. Jones | 6 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,000) Piscataway, NJ |
| January 11, 2020 2:15 p.m., BTN | No. 20 | Wisconsin | L 49–58 | 12–4 (2–3) | 19 – Stevens | 13 – Stevens | 2 – Tied | Bryce Jordan Center (10,139) University Park, PA |
| January 15, 2020 9:00 p.m., BTN | | at Minnesota | L 69–75 | 12–5 (2–4) | 15 – Tied | 5 – Tied | 4 – Wheeler | Williams Arena (9,714) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 18, 2020 12:00 p.m., ESPNU | | No. 21 Ohio State | W 90–76 | 13–5 (3–4) | 24 – Stevens | 5 – Tied | 4 – M. Jones | Bryce Jordan Center (14,785) University Park, PA |
| January 22, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN | | at Michigan | W 72–63 | 14–5 (4–4) | 19 – Stevens | 9 – Stevens | 4 – Wheeler | Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI |
| January 29, 2020 8:30 p.m., BTN | No. 24 | Indiana | W 64–49 | 15–5 (5–4) | 17 – Stevens | 9 – Stevens | 5 – Wheeler | Bryce Jordan Center (7,656) University Park, PA |
| February 1, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN | No. 24 | at Nebraska | W 76–64 | 16–5 (6–4) | 14 – Dread | 17 – Watkins | 6 – M. Jones | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,901) Lincoln, NE |
| February 4, 2020 8:00 p.m., BTN | No. 22 | at No. 16 Michigan State | W 75–70 | 17–5 (7–4) | 24 – Stevens | 7 – Stevens | 5 – M. Jones | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| February 8, 2020 4:00 p.m., BTN | No. 22 | Minnesota | W 83–77 | 18–5 (8–4) | 33 – Stevens | 7 – Tied | 4 – Harrar | Bryce Jordan Center (15,261) University Park, PA |
| February 11, 2020 6:30 p.m., BTN | No. 13 | at Purdue | W 88–76 | 19–5 (9–4) | 19 – Watkins | 10 – Watkins | 5 – Tied | Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN |
| February 15, 2020 12:00 p.m., BTN | No. 13 | Northwestern | W 77–61 | 20–5 (10–4) | 23 – Stevens | 9 – Watkins | 6 – Wheeler | Bryce Jordan Center (14,402) University Park, PA |
| February 18, 2020 6:30 p.m., FS1 | No. 9 | Illinois | L 56–62 | 20–6 (10–5) | 13 – Stevens | 9 – Stevens | 6 – Wheeler | Bryce Jordan Center (9,506) University Park, PA |
| February 23, 2020 12:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 9 | at Indiana | L 60–68 | 20–7 (10–6) | 29 – Stevens | 10 – Harrar | 1 – Tied | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN |
| February 26, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN | No. 16 | Rutgers | W 65–64 | 21–7 (11–6) | 16 – Brockington | 7 – Tied | 7 – Dread | Bryce Jordan Center (8,345) University Park, PA |
| February 29, 2020 12:00 p.m., BTN | No. 16 | at No. 18 Iowa | L 68–77 | 21–8 (11–7) | 20 – Stevens | 10 – Stevens | 4 – Jones | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,056) Iowa City, IA |
| March 3, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 20 | No. 16 Michigan State | L 71–79 | 21–9 (11–8) | 16 – M. Jones | 9 – Watkins | 5 – Wheeler | Bryce Jordan Center (13,437) University Park, PA |
| March 7, 2020 4:00 p.m., BTN | No. 20 | at Northwestern | L 69–80 | 21–10 (11–9) | 18 – Stevens | 14 – Harrar | 4 – Tied | Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,084) Evanston, IL |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 2020 9:00 p.m., BTN | (6) | vs. (11) Indiana Second round | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | 23 | 20 | 21 | 20 | RV | 24 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 20 | RV | RV |
| Coaches | — | — | RV | RV | RV | — | 24 | 21 | 21 | 20 | RV | 23 | 20 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 20 | RV | RV |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
On December 16, 2019 Penn State was ranked #23 in the Associated Press Poll marking its first appearance in the poll since 1996.