# 2020–21 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team

The 2020–21 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by interim head coach Jim Ferry 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 11–14, 7–12 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for 10th place. As the No. 10 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Nebraska before losing to Wisconsin in the second round.
On October 21, 2020, head coach Pat Chambers resigned after an internal investigation by the school into inappropriate conduct by Chambers. It had been reported in July that former player Rasir Bolton had left the program due to inappropriate comments to him by Chambers. New allegations surfaced after a later investigation by the school that led to Chambers resigning. Assistant coach Jim Ferry was named interim coach for the season.
Following the end of the season, the school hired Purdue assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry as head coach.

## Previous season

The Nittany Lions finished the 2019–20 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.

## Offseason
### Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| 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 |
| Recruiting 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. ||||||

## Coaching staff

| Position | Name | Year | Alma mater |
| Head coach | Jim Ferry | 2017 | Keene State (1990) |
| Associate head coach | Keith Urgo | 2011 | Fairfield (2002) |
| Assistant coach | Talor Battle | 2020 | Penn State (2011) |
| Assistant coach | Ross Condon | 2011 | Villanova (2007) |
| Director of Basketball Operations | Nicholas Colella | 2015 | Penn State (2013) |
| Director of Recruiting | Kevin Hudash | 2018 | Penn State (2017) |
| Athletic trainer | Jon Salazer | 2001 | Penn State (1993) |
| Director of player development | David Caporaletti | 2011 | Philadelphia (1993) |
| Strength and conditioning coach | Greg Miskinis | 2009 | Penn State (2008) |
| Graduate assistant | K.J. Baptiste | 2019 | Brandeis (2018) |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 25, 2020* BTN | | Drexel | Cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols | Cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols | Cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols | Cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols | Cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols | Bryce Jordan Center University Park, PA |
| November 28, 2020* 1:00 pm, BTN+ | | VMI | W 86–65 | 1–0 | 18 – Wheeler | 9 – Harrar | 3 – Sessoms | Bryce Jordan Center (248) University Park, PA |
| December 2, 2020* 5:00 pm, FS1 | | VCU | W 72–69 | 2–0 | 32 – Lundy | 8 – Tied | 6 – Jones | Bryce Jordan Center (283) University Park, PA |
| December 6, 2020* 8:00 pm, BTN | | Seton Hall | L 92–98 $^{OT}$ | 2–1 | 23 – Lundy | 8 – Harrar | 6 – Sessoms | Bryce Jordan Center (264) University Park, PA |
| December 8, 2020* 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 15 Virginia Tech ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 75–55 | 3–1 | 24 – Brockington | 8 – Brockington | 6 – Wheeler | Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA |
| Big Ten regular season |||||||||
| December 13, 2020 2:00 pm, BTN | | at Michigan | L 58–62 | 3–2 (0–1) | 14 – Brockington | 7 – Buttrick | 4 – Wheeler | Crisler Center (0) Ann Arbor, MI |
| December 23, 2020 6:30 pm, BTN | | No. 18 Illinois | L 81–98 | 3–3 (0–2) | 21 – Tied | 7 – Buttrick | 5 – Wheeler | Bryce Jordan Center (158) University Park, PA |
| December 30, 2020 8:30 pm, BTN | | at Indiana | L 85–87 $^{OT}$ | 3–4 (0–3) | 20 – Jones | 10 – Harrar | 3 – Tied | Assembly Hall (0) Bloomington, IN |
| January 17, 2021 1:00 pm, BTN | | at Purdue | L 72–80 | 3–5 (0–4) | 23 – Jones | 14 – Harrar | 3 – Tied | Mackey Arena (168) West Lafayette, IN |
| January 19, 2021 8:30 pm, BTN | | at No. 22 Illinois | L 65–79 | 3–6 (0–5) | 20 – Jones | 9 – Harrar | 3 – Brockington | State Farm Center (148) Champaign, IL |
| January 21, 2021 7:00 pm, BTN | | Rutgers | W 75–67 | 4–6 (1–5) | 17 – Tied | 11 – Harrar | 6 – Wheeler | Bryce Jordan Center (209) University Park, PA |
| January 23, 2021 7:00 pm, BTN | | Northwestern | W 81-78 | 5-6 (2-5) | 21 – Brockington | 10 – Harrar | 4 – Wheeler | Bryce Jordan Center (273) University Park, PA |
| January 27, 2021 7:00 pm, BTN | | No. 4 Michigan | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues at Michigan | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues at Michigan | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues at Michigan | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues at Michigan | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues at Michigan | Bryce Jordan Center University Park, PA |
| January 27, 2021 7:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 13 Ohio State | L 79-83 | 5-7 (2-6) | 26 – Lundy | 10 – Harrar | 3 – Tied | Value City Arena (0) Columbus, OH |
| January 30, 2021 3:00 pm, BTN | | No. 14 Wisconsin | W 81-71 | 6-7 (3-6) | 20 – Jones | 9 – Brockington | 5 – Wheeler | Bryce Jordan Center (260) University Park, PA |
| February 2, 2021 8:30 pm, BTN | | at No. 19 Wisconsin | L 56–72 | 6–8 (3–7) | 14 – Jones | 5 – Harrar | 2 – Tied | Kohl Center (0) Madison, WI |
| February 5, 2021 7:00 pm, FS1 | | Maryland | W 55–50 | 7–8 (4–7) | 13 – Brockington | 12 – Harrar | 2 – Tied | Bryce Jordan Center (279) University Park, PA |
| February 9, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Michigan State | L 58–60 | 7–9 (4–8) | 17 – Harrar | 14 – Harrar | 4 – Harrar | Breslin Center (0) East Lansing, MI |
| February 14, 2021 3:00 pm, BTN | | Nebraska | L 61-62 | 7-10 (4-9) | 18 – Jones | 11 – Harrar | 3 – Sessoms | Bryce Jordan Center (245) University Park, PA |
| February 18, 2021 8:00 pm, BTN | | No. 4 Ohio State | L 82–92 | 7–11 (4–10) | 18 – Jones | 7 – Wheeler | 7 – Brockington | Bryce Jordan Center (244) University Park, PA |
| February 21, 2021 5:00 pm, FS1 | | at No. 11 Iowa | L 68–74 | 7–12 (4–11) | 11 – Tied | 7 – Brockington | 6 – Sessoms | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (566) Iowa City, IA |
| February 23, 2021 8:00 pm, BTN | | at Nebraska | W 86–83 | 8–12 (5–11) | 29 – Jones | 14 – Harrar | 4 – Tied | Pinnacle Bank Arena (0) Lincoln, NE |
| February 26, 2021 7:00 pm, FS1 | | Purdue | L 52–73 | 8–13 (5–12) | 11 – Jones | 6 – Wheeler | 6 – Wheeler | Bryce Jordan Center (261) University Park, PA |
| March 3, 2021 7:00 pm, BTN | | Minnesota | W 84–65 | 9–13 (6–12) | 17 – Jones | 11 – Harrar | 5 – Tied | Bryce Jordan Center (258) University Park, PA |
| March 7, 2021 7:00 pm, BTN | | at Maryland | W 66–61 | 10–13 (7–12) | 31 – Lundy | 8 – Lundy | 3 – Wheeler | Xfinity Center (0) College Park, MD |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 2021 9:00 pm, BTN | (11) | vs. (14) Nebraska First round | W 72–66 | 11–13 | 19 – Wheeler | 14 – Harrar | 4 – Harrar | Lucas Oil Stadium (5,909) Indianapolis, IN |
| March 11, 2021 9:00 pm, BTN | (11) | vs. (6) Wisconsin Second round | L 74–75 | 11–14 | 18 – Sessoms | 10 – Harrar | 4 – Jones | Lucas Oil Stadium (6,769) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||