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Penn State will get a rematch against North Carolina State this autumn after the Wolfpack defeated the Nittany Lions 85-78 during last season’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The 2018-19 version of the game will take place closer to Penn State’s turf in Atlantic City, New Jersey, so there’s a decent shot for the Lions to avenge themselves and earn a quality non-conference win to boot.
Penn State announced that the North Carolina State game will take place on December 15 in Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall. It will be part of a new event called the Hall of Fame Boardwalk Classic that also features Virginia Tech vs. Washington as well as Temple vs. Davidson and Princeton vs. Iona.
The Lions will be returning to Atlantic City for the first time since 1995, when they defeated Penn at the city’s Convention Center. Boardwalk Hall is an unconventional venue, but it has hosted plenty of basketball games in the past, most notably as the home of the Atlantic 10 Tournament from 2007 through 2012.
North Carolina State earned a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament this past March before being ousted by Seton Hall in the first round. Leading scorer Allerik Freeman is out of eligibility and leading rebounder Omer Yurtseven is transferring to Georgetown, but Torin Dorn should provide enough leadership and scoring punch to make the Wolfpack a tough out for the Lions.
Here’s Pat Chambers from the press release.
“We know our team is in a great environment anytime we can play in front of our alumni, fansand family, and the Basketball Hall of Fame is giving us the opportunity to showcase our program at the Boardwalk Classic in Atlantic City,” said Penn State men’s basketball coach Patrick Chambers. “Penn State has been invited to participate in previous Basketball Hall of Fame events and we’ve had great experiences. We’re excited about this game and the destination.”
North Carolina State gives Penn State another power-conference opponent in their non-conference schedule to go with DePaul (Gavitt Tipoff Games) and Virginia Tech (Big Ten/ACC Challenge).