Penn State men’s basketball looks to build on its undefeated start when it hosts Purdue Fort Wayne on Wednesday night from the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions have dominated their non-conference slate thus far, including an 86-64 victory over ACC foe Virginia Tech in Baltimore last week. Before that, they passed Binghamton, UMBC and St. Francis (Pa.). State of Pennsylvania even received four votes at the end AP Top 25 Men’s Basketball Poll.

Here’s what you need to know about the Penn State-Purdue Fort Wayne game.

Penn State (4-0) vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (3-1)

How to watch, stream, listen to Penn State basketball

The Penn State-Purdue Fort Wayne game, which is part of the Sunburndoes not have a broadcast designation. It will air on BIG+, the Big Ten Network’s streaming service. Dylan Price and Chris Reynolds will get the call. Having trouble streaming the game? Listen to Steve Jones and Dick Jerardi on the Penn State Sports Network. The game can also be heard on SiriusXM channel 382 or on the SiriusXM app on channel 972.

Penn State vs. Purdue Fort Wayne Preview

About the Nittany Lions: Penn State is off to a good start in terms of scoring and margin of victory against its four non-conference points. The Nittany Lions rank fourth in the nation with a +35.8 scoring margin and eighth in the nation with 97.3 points per game. The program received four votes in the latest AP poll, the first time it has received votes since the 2022-23 season.

Penn State scored points in batches and got production from several contributors. Three-point specialist Zach Hicks is shooting 48.3 percent from beyond the arc and is averaging a team-leading 15.5 points. Ace Baldwin Jr., Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Puff Johnson and D’Marco Dunn also average over 10 points per game.

Much of the scoring comes from a defense that averages 15.3 steals per game and has a +10.8 turnover margin, which is best in the nation in both categories. Baldwin, the reigning Big Ten defensive player of the year, leads the defense with 11 interceptions.

Niederhauser has also proven to be a strong transfer asset thus far as Penn State’s premier big man. The Northern Illinois transfer is third on the team with 11.3 points per game, and he leads the team with 6.5 rebounds per game.

About behemoths: Purdue Fort Wayne is arguably the best opponent Penn State has faced so far this season. The Mastodons were picked as preseason favorites to win the Horizon League after posting a 23-13 record last season. They are 3-1 with wins over Bluffton, Bethune-Cookman and Southern Indiana. The only blemish was a close loss to UCF, which received 21 votes in this week’s AP poll.

The Mastodons have two main scoring threats: guards Rasheed Bello and Jalen Jackson. Bello leads the team with 18.5 points per game and Jackson with 17.0 points per game. Forward Eric Mulder has also played well this season, averaging 10.8 points per game and grabbing the rebounds with a team-leading 8.5 rebounds per game.

To be continued

After Wednesday night’s game, Penn State will travel to Daytona Beach to compete in the next leg of the Sunshine Slam. The Nittany Lions will begin with a game against Fordham (2-2) on November 25, then face Clemson (3-1) or San Francisco (4-0) on November 26.

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Sam Woloson has covered Penn State Athletics for three years and is currently the managing editor of the Daily Collegian. His work has also appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Huntingdon Daily News and Rivals. Follow him on @sam_woloson