# 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.

## Previous season

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
### Departures

| 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

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

### 2018 recruiting class

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: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/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: ESPN: N/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
### 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 | Stephen Griffin | 2017 | Philadelphia University (2014) |
| 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 |
| 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. |||||||||