Penn St. Nittany Lions vs. Drexel Dragons Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 21st 2024

Preview and Prediction

Penn State will take their high-powered offense on the road this Saturday as they travel to Philadelphia to face Drexel.

The Nittany Lions (9-2) are ranked in the top 10 nationally in several categories, including points per game (89.6), field-goal percentage (51.6), steals (10.5), and assists (19.3). Led by their dynamic point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. and a talented group of shooters, Penn State is off to their best start since the 2019-2020 season.

Baldwin is currently third in the nation with an average of 8.7 assists per game and is coming off a record-breaking performance of 16 assists in their last game against Coppin State. Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Zach Hicks, Jahvin Carter, D'Marco Dunn, and Dominick Stewart all contributed with multiple 3-pointers in the team's 99-51 victory.

Coach Mike Rhoades praised Baldwin's ability to both score and facilitate for his teammates, stating that he would rather have an assist than a basket. Baldwin is also shooting an impressive 93.0 percent from the free-throw line and has over 700 career assists.

Rhoades is looking forward to showcasing his team's improvement to the Philadelphia crowd, as the area is a key recruiting spot for the program.

Their opponent, Drexel (8-4), is currently on a three-game winning streak, with their most recent victory being a 68-65 road win over Howard. Jason Drake had a career-high 21 points in the game, while Yame Butler added 16 points.

Head coach Zach Spiker emphasized the slim margin between success and failure, stating that it can come down to just a few plays.

Kobe MaGee, Drexel's leading scorer with an average of 15.3 points per game, has struggled with his shooting in three of their last four games. Against Howard, he shot just 3 of 10 and finished with nine points, five rebounds, and four assists.

Penn State has a perfect 6-0 record against Drexel, but the two teams have not faced each other since 2015.

PREDICTION

Penn St. Nittany Lions

Drexel Dragons

Penn St. Nittany Lions vs. Drexel Dragons Recap DEC 21TH 2024

Yanic Konan Niederhauser scored 18 points to guide visiting Penn State to a 75-64 win over Drexel in a Saturday matinee from Philadelphia.

Konan Niederhauser also had six rebounds and three blocks, while Ace Baldwin Jr. chipped in 15 points and six assists for the Nittany Lions (10-2).

Nick Kern added 13 points, Puff Johnson had 11 and Zach Hicks pitched in with eight points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals.

Yame Butler (16 points) and Kevon Vanderhorst (14) were the top scorers for the Dragons (8-5), who shot just 5-of-23 from 3-point range. The Nittany Lions weren't any better at 3-of-14, although Penn State knocked down 14-of-15 attempts from the foul line.

After trailing by eight points at halftime, Drexel got within 58-56 on Butler's layup with about 8 1/2 minutes left. However, Fred Dilione V and Kachi Nzeh answered with buckets to halt the Dragons' surge.

With just over four minutes left, Drexel once again got within a bucket as Cole Hargrove dunked to make it 62-60. But Konan Niederhauser and Baldwin each made a pair of free throws to fuel a quick 8-0 burst that pushed the lead back to 10.

Konan Niederhauser added a layup off a feed from Baldwin later in that push before Kern made it 70-60 with his layup with a hair over two minutes left.

The Nittany Lions led by as many as 13 down the stretch.

The game was close throughout the first half until Penn State began to create some separation in the final five minutes of the opening session.

With the Nittany Lions leading 26-25, Dilione knocked down a jumper to ignite a 9-0 run. Konan Niederhauser's three-point play continued tilting the momentum in Penn State's favor, and then he added another bucket shortly thereafter.

Johnson's two free throws pushed the lead to double digits (35-25) for the first time, and the visitors went on to lead 37-29 at the break.

Kern and Konan Niederhauser led all scorers with 11 points in the first half.