Penn State’s basketball programs ready to return to historic Rec Hall. ‘It’s been too long’

It’s been nearly a decade since Penn State basketball was played in Rec Hall.

More specifically, the last time a blue and white hoops squad hosted a game in the historic athletic building was on Dec. 12, 2015, when the men’s team beat Louisiana Monroe 54-50.

On Wednesday and Thursday, that drought comes to an end — Penn State’s men’s and women’s basketball teams will each host a ranked, conference rival in the longtime Penn State sports arena.

“Our players and staff are just elated to be going back to Rec Hall,” women’s basketball coach Carolyn Kieger said last week.

The men’s squad will face No. 12 Illinois at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, while the Lady Lions host No. 2 Ohio State at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Both matchups come at a critical point in the season for each program. For Mike Rhoades’ team, it’s played a back-and-forth season. Sometimes, Penn State has looked solid offensively led by guard Ace Baldwin Jr. But at other times, especially during the team’s current three game losing streak, its inefficiency and lack of interior presence prevents it from competing with top-tier teams.

On Monday, Rhoades announced that the team’s leading scorer this season, Kanye Clary, is no longer be with the team, adding in another storyline to follow on Wednesday.

As for Kieger’s Lady Lions, this was the season that she and the program painted as its exit from a long rebuild. Her Penn State squad racked up a 9-3 record through its first 12 games, but it’s currently riding a five game losing streak. With a veteran, guard-heavy group, the Lady Lions are looking to regain a lost spark as March draws closer.

While the women’s squad may have more realistic NCAA tournament aspirations in 2024, both matchups at Rec Hall will be key for Penn State’s basketball teams.

Men’s Basketball vs. No. 12 Illinois

Nowadays, Rec Hall only hosts both of Penn State’s volleyball and gymnastics programs, along with wrestling. But not too long ago, Penn State men’s hoops in Rec Hall was an elite college basketball environment.

With a listed capacity just north of 6,500, fans in blue and white would pack into the small arena to create a loud, disruptive atmosphere for opponents.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, who was an assistant coach with the Spartans prior to becoming their head coach in 1995, said last week after defeating the Nittany Lions in the Bryce Jordan Center that it was “awesome” that the teams are returning to Rec Hall for a game. He shared a story about former Spartans coach Jud Heathcote in the arena.

“The locker room was so small that the bathroom and the locker room and the shower room were almost all together,” Izzo said. “(Heathcote) was trying to do a chalk talk in there, and there was a lip so the water from the shower didn’t come into the locker room. And Jud backed up and he went down. I laughed so hard.”

Wednesday’s contest with Illinois presents a tough challenge for the Nittany Lions, with or without a sold-out home crowd. Rhoades’ squad is currently 12-14 overall, 6-9 in the Big Ten and near the bottom of the conference standings.

The Fighting Illini, 19-6 overall and 10-4 in the Big Ten, will be the first Big Ten opponent to play a Penn State basketball team in Rec Hall since since its two basketball programs moved to the Bryce Jordan Center in 1996.

“It’s gonna be really tightly packed and have a good crowd, especially playing against a team like Illinois,” forward Puff Johnson said on Monday.

Since the move across campus, the Nittany Lions have only played three games in Rec Hall: December 2013 against Princeton, December 2015 against Canisus and the aforementioned matchup with Louisiana Monroe just a few days later.

Rhoades said on Monday that he remembers working a basketball camp in Rec Hall in 1993 and said the return “could be a really exciting thing.”

“Exciting. Different. One thing we talked about since my press conference is let’s think outside of the box with scheduling and doing some different things with Penn State basketball, and this is one of them,” Rhoades said. “It should be a lot of fun. Great for the students, great for our players and all the fans.”

Women’s Basketball vs. No. 2 Ohio State

While Rec Hall opened in 1929, Penn State women’s basketball didn’t play its first game on its floor until 1976. For the next 20 years though, the Lady Lions called it home — but since the BJC move in 1996, they haven’t returned to Rec Hall.

“It’s been too long since we’ve been back,” Kieger said. “There’s been so many amazing Lady Lion players and teams that have come through Rec Hall that have paved the foundation.”

With a 16-10 record, Penn State’s women’s basketball team still has a solid chance at its first NCAA tournament berth since 2013-14, as long as it can grab a few more wins before the season’s end.

But, with the way they’ve played lately, that’s a big “if.” Since an season-ending injury to fifth-year guard Tay Valladay, the team has struggled to play to its strengths: playing with quick pace and shooting threes.

History may be on the Lady Lions’ side on Thursday though, with a 44-1 all-time record against Big Ten opponents in Rec Hall.

Similar to the men’s squad, a rivalry matchup with No. 2-ranked Ohio State in a rowdy Rec Hall environment could be just the kind of win the Lady Lions need to get back on track and convince the rest of the country they’re worthy of a tournament spot.

In a big-time matchup for the Lady Lions, Kieger said she has high hopes for the Rec Hall crowd.

“We’d love for it to be packed,” Kieger said. “We’d love for it to be sold out.”