Pitt and Penn State are headed back to one of college basketball’s most iconic floors.
The Panthers announced they will face their in-state rival at The Palestra in Philadelphia on Sunday, Nov. 8, in a non-conference matchup that will be the 150th all-time meeting between the schools on the hardwood.
Penn State owns the edge in the series, 76-73, but the recent trend has leaned toward neutral-site showdowns. This will be the second straight year the programs meet away from either campus, after Pitt rolled past Penn State 80-46 at the GIANT Center in Hershey in December before an announced crowd of 8,191. It also marks the fourth straight meeting at a neutral site, following matchups in Brooklyn in 2017 and Newark in 2016.
The rivalry has been stretched out geographically for years. Penn State has not played at the Petersen Events Center since 2013, and Pitt’s last trip to State College came in 2002.
For Jeff Capel’s team, the Penn State game is just one piece of a demanding non-conference slate. Pitt has seven power-five opponents among its 14 non-conference games, along with 18 ACC contests.
The Panthers’ early schedule also includes a home game against Villanova, a December meeting with West Virginia at PPG Paints Arena in downtown Pittsburgh, road games at Butler on Nov. 13 and Missouri on Dec. 1 for the ACC-SEC Challenge, plus games against Oklahoma and DePaul at the Fort Meyers tip-off during Thanksgiving week, with DePaul coming on the holiday.
The Palestra gives the matchup another layer. Opened on Jan. 1, 1927, the building has been Penn’s home ever since and remains one of the sport’s landmark arenas. It has also hosted countless Big 5 battles over the years.
Pitt has not played there since 2011, when it beat Penn 78-58, and the Panthers are 7-15 all-time inside the building.
"Every basketball player and coach in this country understands the significance of playing at the Palestra," Pitt Head Coach Jeff Capel said in a release provided by the school. "It's one of the great venues in the history of the sport, and to play Penn State there in its 100th Anniversary year is a truly unique opportunity. Our players will be walking into a building with a century of history behind it, and after the atmosphere we saw in Hershey last year, I can't wait to see the energy our fans bring to a place like the Palestra."
The game will also bring a homecoming for Pitt transfer guard Jalil Bethea, who starred for Archbishop Wood in the Philadelphia Catholic League. Walk-on senior forward Jajuan Nelson is also from Philadelphia.
Pitt is coming off a 13-20 season and has rebuilt almost completely, adding 11 transfers and two four-star high school prospects as it tries to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2023. Penn State enters its fourth season under Mike Rhoades after going 12-20 last year. Rhoades is 44-52 in three seasons, and the Nittany Lions have also remade their roster with nine newcomers this offseason.
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