PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team is ready to tip off the 2024-25 season. That tipoff will take place Monday night, when the Quakers make the short trip to North Jersey to face NJIT in the fifth meeting between these regional foes.
 
GAME 1 – PENN (0-0) at NJIT (0-0)
Monday, November 4, 2024 | 7 p.m.
Newark, N.J. | Wellness and Events Center (The WEC)
Watch Live on ESPN+ ($) | Listen on QAN | Live Stats
 
Penn Game Notes (PDF) | NJIT Game Notes (PDF)
 
Ivy League on ESPN+
A reminder that the Ivy League is paired with ESPN and you will be able to find all Penn home games, as well as road Ivy games and select non-conference road games, on ESPN+ again this season with the same high broadcast quality you've come to expect. ESPN+ is a subscription-based service that offers monthly and yearly packages. Click here to subscribe to ESPN+!
 
Quaker Audio Network (QAN)
Penn fans can listen to all of the 2024-25 Penn's men's basketball season through the Quaker Audio Network, a free Internet-based audio streaming service. Matt Leon will be on the play-by-play call for Monday's game, with Brad Fadem and Vince Curran providing analysis. To access the Quaker Audio Network, simply type www.pennathletics.com/audio into your computer or device.
 
Early Start
Monday's game marks the earliest start to a season, by date, in program history. Prior to this, the earliest start date was November 5, set in 2019 when the Quakers traveled to Alabama and beat the Crimson Tide in what was Nate Oats' first game as Bama's head coach, 81-80.
 
The Series with NJIT
*The Quakers and Highlanders are meeting for the fifth time in men's basketball, with Penn having won each of the first four meetings.
  1/5/2008 - at Penn 79, NJIT 68
  1/17/2009 - Penn 59, at NJIT 40
  1/17/2013 - Penn 54, at NJIT 53
  1/25/2014 - at Penn 89, NJIT 74
 
*This is Penn's third trip to Newark in the series and first since 2013.
 
*Penn is 13-2 all-time against programs that currently compete in the America East Conference, the losses coming to UAlbany and the wins coming over NJIT (4), UMBC (4), Binghamton (3) and New Hampshire (2). Penn's only game against an AE opponent in the Donahue era came on January 2, 2016, an 80-45 win over Binghamton at The Palestra.
 
*Penn is 5-3 in season openers in the Donahue era.
 
Penn MBB by the Numbers
3 - Transfers who have joined the Penn roster for the 2024-25 season: Ethan Roberts (Drake), Dylan Williams (Triton College) and Michael Zanoni (Mercer). Of the group, Roberts is the most decorated as he was the Patriot League Rookie of the Year at Army in 2022-23 before spending last season at Drake (missing the campaign due to injury). Williams, meanwhile, started at point guard for a Triton team that went 34-3 last season and advanced to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national championship game.
 
7 - Total newcomers on the 2024-25 roster: in addition to the aforementioned trio of transfers, the Quakers also have the freshman quartet of Bradyn Foster, AJ Levine, Alex Massung, and Michelangelo Oberti.
 
7 - Returning players who have recorded at least one double-figure scoring game during their collegiate career: seniors Reese McMullen, Nick Spinoso and George Smith; junior Cam Thrower; and sophomores Sam Brown, Augustus Gerhart and Niklas Polonowski.
 
7.9 - Rebounds per game last season by Spinoso, which was fourth among Ivy League players.
 
26 - Steals made last season by Smith, which was tied for second on the team.
 
29 - Starts made last year by Spinoso; he was the only player on the team to start all of the Quakers' 29 games. Other returnees who were regular starters are Smith (19), Brown (18), and Thrower (9).
 
61 - Three-pointers knocked down by Brown last season, on 141 attempts (.433); he finished third among Ivy League players in 3FG percentage and fourth in 3FG per game (2.44). Brown's 61 treys were the second most by a freshman in program history, behind only Jackson Donahue who had 62 in 2015-16.
 
200 - Assists dished out over the last two seasons by Spinoso (93 in 2022-23, 107 last season); he finished fourth among Ivy League players in assists/game last season (3.69) and was the only big man among the top 12.
 
For the latest on Penn men's basketball, follow @PennMBB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.