Following its win over Purdue on Friday in its regular-season finale, Penn State will start its postseason run by hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Happy Valley.

No. 4-seeded Penn State will play its first tournament game at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, December 2, against UMBC. When the Nittany Lions hit the court against the Retrievers, they will have played in all 42 all-time NCAA tournaments.

Rec Hall will also play host to a matchup between No. 5-seeded UCF against Yale in the first round of the tournament. If Penn State gets by UMBC, it’ll play the winner of UCF-Yale at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 3.

The Big Ten is well-represented in the tournament with Ohio State (No. 3), Minnesota (No. 2), Purdue (No. 8), Nebraska (No. 2), and Wisconsin (No. 1) all garnering a bid. The Badgers are the No. 1 seed in Penn State’s side of the bracket.

Last year, Penn State made an early exit from the tournament in the second round when it fell 3-1 to Pitt.

Penn State posted a 24-7 record (13-7 Big Ten) during the 2022 regular season, ranking No. 11 in the country in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll. The Nittany Lions will try to claim their first national championship since 2014 when the team kicks off its tournament run on December 2.

About the Author

Mara McKeon

Mara is a senior staff writer majoring in English and public relations. She loves all things sports and anything that has peanut butter. You can usually find her obsessing over country music or Penn State wrestling and counting down the days until she gets to see Luke Combs in Beaver Stadium. Feel free to reach her on Twitter @MckeonMara, and for more formal affairs, her email is mom5944@psu.edu.

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