Brian BennettSat, November 29, 2025 at 6:33 PM UTC·2 min readIt’s another Saturday and another day where Penn State’s mens basketball team will be on the floor as the same time as the football team. This time, the Lions are home at the BJC for a 6 p.m. tipoff against Sacred Heart. The game can be seen on the Peacock app.
Penn State is coming off a high-scoring bounce back win against Boston University earlier this week in Happy Valley. This is one of Penn State’s final tuneups before they open Big Ten play in about 10 days.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementScouting the Opposition
Sacred Heart is 2-4 and will play Penn State for the first time since way back in 2009.
The Pioneers are members of the MAAC and their wins this year have come against Merchant Marine Academy and Holy Cross. Sacred Heart has shown the ability to score a lot of points, however. They lost 108-106 to Central Connecticut State in their last outing.
Anquan Hill is the best player for Sacred Heart. The forward averages 18.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Dashon Gittens is another guard to watch for, while Yann Farrell is the best shooter from the perimeter.
What to Watch For
Defense, defense: Penn State lost its way defensively in the second half of the Boston University game. You’ll want to see if the Lions can improve in that category, especially against a team that can score some points.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementKeep the Focus: Along those same lines, can Penn State maintain its attention to detail in its final few non-conference games before looming showdowns with Indiana and Michigan State. The Big Ten looks to be a gauntlet this year, so winning as many non-conference games is necessary if there’s any hope of postseason play. This is one that the young Lions need to get.
Prediction
Penn State 81, Sacred Heart 68. A lot of these games this early season feel the same – so let’s take a similar sort of result.
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