UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – North Carolina Central's men's basketball team wraps up its non-conference schedule on Monday, Dec. 29, visiting Penn State at the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will be shown live on the Big Ten Network at 1 p.m. as the two programs meet for the first time.
Game 15:
NCCU (4-10, 0-0 MEAC) at Penn State (8-4, 0-2 Big Ten)
Monday, Dec. 29, 2025 – 1:00 p.m.
Bryce Jordan Center – University Park, Pa.
Big Ten Network | Live Stats | Radio
Series History: Monday marks the first meeting between NC Central and Penn State. Though it will be their debut game, the Nittany Lions are 17-1 versus MEAC competition and the Eagles will be the first and only MEAC opponent to play Penn State this season.
Scouting Penn State: Penn State is 8-4, with a 0-2 record so far against Big Ten opponents. The Nittany Lions are 6-1 at home with their only loss coming from No.6 Michigan State on Dec. 13. PSU is led by Freddie Dilione V (14.9) and Kayden Mingo (14.5) in scoring. Dilione comes off the bench and Mingo also leads in rebounding (4.2). The Nittany Lions are fifth in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (9.1), 19th in turnover margin (4.5) and 18th in fouls per game (14.3).
Last Time Out: With the game tied at 72 with 22 seconds remaining, Longwood's buzzer-beater determined the outcome as the NC Central men's basketball team fell 74-72 on Dec. 20. NCCU had a trio of double-figure scorers. Khouri Carvey and Jae Slack each had 17 points, with Carvey grabbing 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Gage Lattimore led all scorers with 22 points. Though the Eagles won the turnover battle, the Lancers were relentless on the boards. Longwood grabbed 40 rebounds and 16 were offensive, giving the Lancers the 15-6 second-chance point advantage over NCCU. The most important offensive rebound and putback for Longwood was by Elijah Tucker with less than a second left, as he followed Redd Thompson Jr.'s missed jumper for the bucket and win at the buzzer.
Non-Conference Recap: Monday's game at Penn State marks the 15th and final non-conference game for the Eagles this season. So far, NC Central has won four games, but none have been over Division I programs. The closest losses this season came versus North Carolina A&T, James Madison and Longwood. The Eagles had second half leads against NCAT and JMU, and lost by a buzzer-beater to Longwood. NCCU won by an average of 38.5 ppg in their four victories and fell by 18.75 ppg in their 10 losses.
MEAC Minute: For the second time this season, NC Central's Khouri Carvey was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week. Carvey was one rebound shy of consecutive double-doubles before the Christmas break, averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds. The forward leads the Eagles in rebounding and is second in the MEAC in the same category at 6.8 rebounds per game. He's also first in the conference in field goal percentage (57.9). Conference action begins on Saturday, Jan. 3 as the Eagles welcome Norfolk State to McDougald-McLendon Arena for a 4:30 p.m. tip.
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com.
