How to watch Penn State basketball vs. Bucknell

Mike Rhoades understood what was coming for his Nittany Lions. Off to a 4-0 start to his debut season as Penn State basketball’s new head coach in November, the final week of the month would bring a distinctly more difficult challenge.

Headed to Kissimmee, Fla., for the ESPN Events Invitational, a Thanksgiving Day game against No. 12-ranked Texas A&M would amount to “moving up a weight class,” he mused. Having easily dispatched Delaware State, Lehigh, Saint Francis, and Morehead State, all at the Bryce Jordan Center, the sentiment held for multiple directions. A first away venue, one of the nation’s top opponents, and a crowded field of legitimate participants filled out the rest of the tournament.

“Our guys are excited to play,” Rhoades said. “We got our hands full right off the bat with Texas A&M, one of the best teams in the country. They have a heck of a coach and we know we have our hands full this whole week. But it’s exactly what we need to do. We need to be ready to play right from the right from the get-go.”

Rhoades’ fears proved well-founded.

Dropping an 89-77 hard-fought decision to the Aggies, the Nittany Lions followed the effort with an 88-78 loss to Butler on Black Friday. And, even with an opportunity to regroup on Saturday, a consolation Sunday morning matchup with VCU to avoid a weekend sweep and last place provided no relief. Instead, an 86-74 defeat at the hands of Rhoades’ former institution left Penn State riding a three-game losing streak as the calendar flipped to December.

Now, the Nittany Lions will need to rebound from it. And they’ll try to do so on Saturday afternoon when they face Bucknell at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Nittany Lions need defensive improvement

Rhoades and his Nittany Lions will need to push past a glaring vulnerability in demand of fixing. A hallmark throughout a career that has spanned coaching stops at Randolph-Macon, Rice, and VCU before arriving at Penn State last offseason, defensive letdowns were wide-ranging and consistent over the three losses. 

A departure from the preseason expectation of offensive gelling hurdles demanding time and attention, Penn State’s biggest area needing immediate improvement has come on the defensive end.

“That’s the one thing with this group we have. We scored enough points. We allowed maybe a bad possession to affect the next trip down the court, or a missed shot to affect our defense, or vice versa. Then we were playing frustrated. Our frustration hurt our defense,” Rhoades said on his weekly radio show. “We gave up three games in a row of 80 points or plus. That’s never happened in my career. That’s where we gotta adjust.”

Here are details of how to see the Nittany Lions in action.

Game time, how to watch: Penn State (4-3) vs. Bucknell (2-7)

Venue: Bryce Jordan Center

Tip time: 12 p.m. ET – Saturday, Dec. 2

TV: Big Ten Network 

Stream: Live stream on Fubo! with this link (Try for free)! Fubo’s holiday offer just kicked off – For a limited time, new subscribers can save $40 on Fubo’s Pro, Elite, and Premier plans ($20 off the first and second months)

On the call: Jason Ross Jr. (play by play) and Myles Dread (analyst)

Radio: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)

Live stats: StatBroadcast

Game Notes: Penn State

What is the Penn State-Bucknell spread?

The Nittany Lions are 19.5-point favorites against Bucknell. And, the over/under betting total is 144.5 points. 

Penn State injury updates

• Leading scorer, Kanye Clary, missed all but eight minutes of action in the Nittany Lions’ loss on Sunday with a stinger to his right elbow. The result was numbness in his hand that bridged the first and second half, taking more than an hour to subside. He returned to the game eventually and is fine ahead of Saturday’s matchup.

• Favour Aire remains on the mend with a broken finger. Though Aire’s cast has come off, Rhoades indicated last week that he doesn’t know when the transfer center will be available to play. He has not appeared in any games so far this season.