2022 Penn State Nittany Lions Season Preview

[BabaYaga]

State College, PA – The Penn State Nittany Lions have a good mix of players who are ready to step in and impact the game. This Penn State team will be well-rounded even as their head coach apparently wants to go south for the basketball season. Below I take a quick look at the Penn State season ahead.

 

Projected Starters

G - Dennis Ray - SR - B overall

G - James Outlaw - SO - B overall

F - Kenneth Odell - JR - B overall

F - Luis Teran - JR - B overall

C - Donald Edwards - SO - B overall

 

Key Bench Contributors

F - Gregory Odusanya - FR - B overall

G - Hector Cruz - JR - B overall

C - Barry Mcmahan - SR - B overall

 

This group is solid across the board. There is no one player that stands out brightly but a lot of them just blend in with each other, which is good when you have some talent. They aren’t going to drop off much when they hit their bench but I do wonder about their ability to run past teams with a few stars on their roster. Look for this team to play a lot of guys to find a rotation that works for them.

 

Non-Conference Schedule

Week 1A: Arkansas State

Week 1B: @ Auburn

Week 2A: Villanova (Gavitt Tip-Off Games)

Week 2B: @ Louisville

Week 3A: @ NC State (ACC-B1G Challenge)

Week 3B: South Alabama

Week 4A: Rhode Island

Week 6A: @ Syracuse

 

Penn State starts off its season with two games that should be a good barometer for them. Arkansas State is very similar in makeup to their team and then they follow up with one of the worst P5 teams in Auburn. Villanova and South Alabama will be very tough games for them but this is a team that looks up to the challenge. Non-conference projection: Low 4-4, High 6-2.

 

Overall Thoughts

Penn State is a tough team to peg because they are just above average at everything. They aren’t going to beat you in a certain way on the offensive side of the ball and they aren’t going to make it super tough to score points on them. Penn State is a group that I think will get better over the course of the season and might sneak into the tournament. Prediction: 17-11 (12-8 B1G)