Penn State men’s basketball got a noticeably softer opening stretch when the Big Ten released its 2026-27 schedule.
Mike Rhoades’ team will begin league play at home against Nebraska on Dec. 8, then head to Illinois on Dec. 12.
Both of those programs reached the NCAA Tournament last season, but Penn State does not see another 2026 March Madness team after that until Jan. 13.
That’s a sharp change from last season’s opening run. Penn State opened Big Ten play with Indiana, No.
9 Michigan State, No. 20 Illinois, No.
2 Michigan, No. 5 Purdue and UCLA.
The Nittany Lions lost all six, stumbled to an 0-10 start in the conference and finished 12-20 overall and 3-17 in the Big Ten, last in the league.
“I don't know what I did to the people that create the schedule,” Rhoades said last December. “It's absolutely ridiculous our first six games, but until we put our imprint on the league as a basketball program and we take care of business, maybe then we'll get respect from the office and scheduling and all that stuff.”
This time around, Penn State should have a better shot at banking an early win. After Nebraska and Illinois, the Nittany Lions will face Oregon at home on Jan.
2, Minnesota on the road on Jan. 6 and Northwestern at home on Jan. 10.
Last season, Minnesota was one of Penn State’s three conference wins, while Northwestern and Oregon finished 15th and 16th in the Big Ten standings, respectively.
There’s also a built-in pause before the real conference grind begins. Penn State’s final non-conference game is Dec. 22 against St. Joseph’s, followed by an 11-day break before the Oregon game and the bulk of Big Ten play.
The early portion looks manageable. The middle of January does not.
Penn State will run into five straight NCAA Tournament teams in January, and four of those games are on the road. That stretch starts at Wisconsin on Jan. 13 and at Ohio State on Jan. 17, then brings Purdue to the Bryce Jordan Center on Jan.
- The Nittany Lions go back on the road for Iowa on Jan. 23 and Michigan State on Jan.
If Penn State is still searching for its first conference victory by then, this run could be a brutal obstacle. Under Rhoades, the Nittany Lions have already lived through losing streaks of 11 and 12 games over the past two seasons.
The calendar gets friendlier after that. Starting with Maryland on Jan.
30, Penn State will play five of its next seven games in the Bryce Jordan Center. The stretch includes home dates with Indiana on Feb. 2 and Ohio State on Feb. 6, a trip to Nebraska on Feb. 12, a home game against Washington on Feb. 17, a road game at Rutgers on Feb. 20 and a home matchup with defending national champion Michigan on Feb.
The season finishes with a West Coast swing to UCLA on Feb. 27 and USC on March 2, then closes at home against Rutgers on March 7.
In Other News...
Buffalo Coach Sees One Clear Problem With Facing Penn State
Pete Lembo had plenty to say about what Buffalo is walking into at Beaver Stadium, and his breakdown came with the kind of specificity that usually comes only after a coach has spent real time studying an opponent. The Buffalo head coach pointed to Penn State linebacker Tony Rojas, a player he once recruited at South Carolina, and also singled out middle linebacker Kooper Ebel as a steady defensive presence. He did not stop there, either, adding praise for quarterback Rocco Becht and special teams coordinator Justin Lustig as he sized up a roster that looks deep enough to challenge almost every phase of the game.
For Penn State, the interesting part is not just that an opponent noticed the obvious talent. It is that Lembo framed the matchup around the parts of the roster that can tilt a game before the box score ever settles in, from defense to special teams to the quarterback spot. When an opposing coach comes away talking in those terms, it usually means he sees only one clean path for his own team, and it is not the easy one. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State's Spending Reality Just Raised A Bigger Contender Question
Penn States place in the new college football financial order is getting harder to ignore. The Nittany Lions projected 2026 roster budget sits in the $29 million to $32 million range, a number that leaves them 21st nationally and seventh in the Big Ten, well behind the sports biggest spenders such as Ohio State and Oregon. In a league where roster construction has become as much about money as recruiting, that gap is a real part of the conversation around how Penn State keeps pace.
The roster churn only sharpens the issue. Penn State has 62 new players this season, including 40 transfers, and the program has had to navigate the balancing act of holding onto key contributors while adding talent through the portal. Matt Campbell has managed the budget pressures by keeping important pieces in place and bringing in transfers from his previous team, but the broader question remains whether that approach is enough for Penn State to stay in the same competitive tier as the leagues highest rollers. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State May Have Found Its Next Tight End Problem For Defenses
A new tight end presence has already started to change how Penn State can attack defenses. Benjamin Brahmer, the 6-foot-7, 250-pound transfer from Iowa State, has played two games and wasted little time making himself part of the conversation, catching six of nine targets for 87 yards and three touchdowns while flashing the kind of size and versatility that usually creates problems for opposing coverages.
Brahmers value has gone beyond the stat sheet, too. His strong pass-blocking grade and the trust he earned from quarterback Rocco Becht at Iowa State point to a player who can help in multiple phases, and the early signs around his physical development have only added to the intrigue about how high his ceiling might be at tight end. If this is just the start, Penn State may have found a matchup piece defenses will be forced to account for every week. [Read more 🡒]