Penn State Basketball: 2018-19 Season Preview

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NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 27: The Penn State Nittany Lions bench celebrates in the second quarter against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during their 2018 National Invitation Tournament Championship semifinals game at Madison Square Garden on March 27, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

Strength of Schedule

Strength of schedule has proved to be a huge factor in deciding which teams get at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament. You could have 23 wins, but if you don’t play anyone good, you’re not going to get in.

The Nittany Lions’ strength of schedule in 2017-18 was far below average, as it ranked in the outside the top 250 in the country. This was a result of playing only two good teams, N.C State and Texas A&M in out-of-conference games.

Combine this with a Big Ten conference that was far below average, and things weren’t looking good for the Nittany Lions when they only had 21 wins after the Big Ten Tournament.

Fast forward to this season, where Penn State scheduled DePaul, Bradley/SMU, Virginia Tech, N.C State and Alabama out of conference. They’ll also be playing in a Big Ten conference that’s going to send seven or eight teams to the NCAA Tournament, and not four like last season.

The schedule looks good for Penn State, and as long as they can win some of these games to get some quality wins on their resume, they’ll be in good shape.

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