Navy (1-1 / 0-0 Patriot League) at Penn State (2-0 / 0-0 Big Ten)
Tuesday, Nov. 11  I  6:30 p.m.  I  Bryce Jordan Center  I  University Park, Pa.

Video - Big Ten Network  I  Ryan Burr, Myles Dread
Radio - WNAV  I  Matt Sabados

Five Starting Notes
•    Navy and Penn State met annually for 48-straight seasons from 1938-39 through 1985-86. 
•    Tuesday's game is the first between the teams in 40 seasons when David Robinson was a junior at Navy.
•    Navy head coach Jon Perry was an assistant coach at Penn State for six seasons (2005-10).
•    Ed DeChellis served as the head coach at both Penn State (2004-11) and at Navy (2012-25).  He was named the coach of the year in both the Big Ten (2009) and Patriot League (2021 and 2022).
•    Navy is playing a game at the home of the Big Ten Conference team for the second time since the start of the 21st Century. 

Game Information
•    Navy takes to the road Tuesday night when the Mids play at Penn State in a 6:30 p.m. game that will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
•    Ryan Burr and Myles Dread will call the game on the telecast.
•    Locally, WNAV will carry the game with Matt Sabados serving as the announcer.

Perry at Penn State
•    Navy head coach Jon Perry was on the Penn State coaching staff of Ed DeChellis for six seasons  The Nittany Lions won the 2009 NIT to highlight his stint at the school.

Staff Roles
•    Jon Perry's staff has the following responsibilities:
    * Brett Barron (3rd season) - Director of Scouting
    * Chase Coleman (1st season) - Director of Player Development and Operations
    * Zack Curran (1st season) - Recruiting Coordinator
    * Jordan Lyons (3rd season) - Offensive Coordinator
    * Scott Wagers (1st season) - Defensive Coordinator 

DeChellis Staying Busy
•    Ed DeChellis retired following the conclusion of the 2024-25 season.  He had spent the last 14 seasons as the head coach of the Mids after he previously served as the head coach at East Tennessee State (1996-97 to 2002-03) and Penn State (2003-04 to 2010-11).
•    DeChellis was named to the NABC Tournament Advisory Committee, a group of former men's basketball coaches who will provide season-long feedback to the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.
•    Fellow members of the committee are Scott Davenport, Fran Dunphy, Jeff Jones, Phil Martelli, Norm Roberts, Tubby Smith and Gary Waters.

About the 2025-26 Navy Team
•    Navy returns from the 2024-25 season:
    * all 5 starters
    * 14 of 19 letter winners
    * 18 of 26 players
•    Navy leads the NCAA with 86.6 percent of its scoring back from last year.
•    Navy is one of nine teams in the country that returns at least 65 percent of its points, rebounds and assists from last season.

Navy Atop Preseason Polls
•    The Mids placed first in the 2025-26 Patriot League Preseason Poll of head coaches.

2025-26 Preseason Patriot League Poll - Men
1. Navy, 79 points (7 first-place votes)
2. Boston U., 73 (2)
3. Colgate, 64 (1)
4. American, 47
5. Bucknell, 44
6. Loyola, 39
7. Lafayette, 36
8. Lehigh, 30
9. Holy Cross, 23
10. Army West Point, 15

•    Additionally, senior guard Austin Benigni was named the Patriot League's Preseason Player of the Year.

2025-26 Preseason All-Patriot League Team - Men
Greg Jones, American, Jr., G
Kyrone Alexander, Boston University, Jr., G
Jalen Cox, Colgate, Jr., G
Jacob Theodosiou, Loyola Maryland, Jr., G
Austin Benigni, Navy, Sr., G (Player of the Year)

•    Not to be outdone, the Navy women's team also placed first in the preseason poll and junior guard Zanai Barnett-Gay was named the preseason player of the year.

2025-26 Preseason Patriot League Poll - Women
1. Navy, 71 points (2 first-place votes)
2. Army, 68 (2)
3. Loyola, 63 (3)
4. Holy Cross, 60 (2)
5. Lehigh, 57 (1)
6. Colgate, 34
7. Bucknell, 33
8. Boston U., 32
9. Lafayette, 21
10. American, 11

2025-26 Preseason All-Patriot League Team - Women
Fiona Hastick, Army, Jr., G/F
Anne Bair, Colgate, Sr., G
Kaitlyn Flanagan, Holy Cross, Sr., G
Lex Therien, Loyola, Gr., F
Zanai Barnett-Gay, Navy, Jr., G (Player of the Year)

Penn State Preview
•    Penn State compiled an overall record of 16-15 last season and placed 17th in the 18-team Big Ten Conference with a 6-14 record.
•    The Nittany Lions have posted a pair of victories on the young season, winning a 76-68 decision at home over Fairfield and then recording an 87-43 victory at New Haven.

Series Notes
•    The first Navy vs. Penn State game was played Feb. 20, 1915, in Annapolis.  The Mids registered a 33-24 victory in that inaugural meeting.
•    At the time of the game, Woodrow Wilson was in his first term as the President of the United States, the average price for a gallon of gas was 21 cents, a gallon of milk cost 35 cents and the movie, The Birth of a Nation, which would gross $10 million that year, was just released.
•    Navy holds a 30-27 lead in the all-time series, but Penn State has posted a 10-3 record in games played in University Park, Pa.
•    The teams met annually for 48-straight seasons (1938-39 through 1985-86) and faced each other 52 times in 53 seasons (missing 1937-38) starting with the 1933-34 campaign and ending in 1985-86.
•    The last game in the series saw Navy defeat Penn State, 103-50, in Annapolis on Dec. 4, 1985.  David Robinson totaled 23 points, 17 rebounds and 8 blocks in just 21 minutes of playing time for the Mids in the game.  That was Robinson's junior season at Navy, a year which culminated with the Mids advancing to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.
•    Navy last visited Penn State on Dec. 4, 1984.  The Nittany Lions won a 66-63 decision in that game.

Navy vs. the Big Ten Conference
•    The last time Navy played a Big Ten Conference team was when the Mids played at Maryland during the 2020-21 COVID season.
•    Navy played host to Big Ten teams Maryland (2018-19), Ohio State (2016-17) and Michigan State (2014-15) during the Veterans Classic.
•    Prior to those recent games, the last time Navy played a game against a Big Ten team when they were a member of the conference was on Jan. 3, 1989, when Navy played at Northwestern (Navy played Oregon in 2016-17 when the Ducks were in the Pac 12).

On This Date
•    Navy has posted a 2-6 record in games played on Nov. 11.

Against This State 
•    Navy has posted a 394-271 record against teams located in Pennsylvania.

In This State 
•    Navy has tallied a 79-114 record in games played in Pennsylvania.

Navy vs. Big Ten on the Road
•    Navy has posted an 11-34 record against current Big Ten teams when the game was played on the road.

Penn State vs. Patriot League at Home
•    Penn State has posted a 152-29 record in home games played against current teams in the Patriot League.

Navy vs. 2025 NCAA Tournament Teams
•    The Mids will play games this season against 2025 NCAA Tournament teams Yale, North Carolina and UNCW.  
•    This is just the third time since Navy joined the Patriot League in 1991-92 in which it will play as many as three non-league games against teams that appeared in the previous year's NCAA Tournament (2006-07, 2021-22). 

Veterans Classic
•    Nov. 7 saw Navy play host to the 12th playing of the Veterans Classic.
•    This year's games had Tulsa defeating Rhode Island, 82-65, and Yale beating Navy, 97-68.
•    Traditionally held on or around the Veterans Day holiday weekend, the event pays tribute to veterans of all our armed forces.
•    The three visiting teams immerse themselves in the USNA on Thursday through tours of ship simulators, helicopters, and ships.  They then eat lunch in King Hall with members of the Brigade of Midshipmen.
•    Veterans of all service branches are honored during the course of the doubleheader.

A Look Back
•    Yale, which has won four of the last five Ivy League titles and is picked to win the league again this year, posted a 97-68 victory over Navy on Nov. 7 in Annapolis.
•    Navy held an early 18-9 lead before Yale went 5-5 from three-point range on its next six possessions to take a 24-22 lead.  The Bulldogs would end the half with 10 three-point baskets and held the Mids without a made field goal for the final 7:30 of the frame to take a 46-31 lead at the break.
•    Navy scored the opening basket of the second half, but Yale was 7-7 from the field on its next seven possessions to take control of the game.
•    Jinwoo Kim scored a career-best 16 points in the game for the Mids.

A Look Ahead
•    Navy will be back in Alumni Hall Friday when it plays host to Washington (Md.) in a 6 p.m. game.

Lots of TV Time
•     Navy has been selected to appear on the CBS Sports Network a minimum of five times during the regular season.
•    The Mids will appear on the network Nov. 7 against Yale, Jan. 12 at American, Feb. 9 at Bucknell and both games against Army (Jan. 24 in Annapolis and Feb. 21 at West Point).  
•    Navy's Feb. 28 home game against Colgate also could be chosen to be televised by the network.
•    Navy previously played five regular season games on the network during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns.  Including postseason games, the Mids were on the CBS Sports Network seven times during the 2021-22 season and five times during the 2016-27, 2018-19 and 2024-25 seasons. 
•    The Mids enter the season having appeared on the network 70 times since its inception as College Sports Television (CSTV) in 2004-05.
•    Also, Navy's Veterans Day game at Penn State will be aired on the Big Ten Network in what will be the second time (Nov. 27, 2020, at Maryland) in which the Mids appear on the network since it was launched in the fall of 2007.  
•    Additionally, the team's Nov. 18 game at North Carolina (7 p.m.) will be carried by the ACC Network.  Navy's two previous appearances on the network –– which began during the fall of 2019 –– were during the 2021-22 season when the Mids won a 66-58 game at Virginia and played at Louisville.

Happy Anniversary
•     The 2025-26 season marks 40 years since the 1985-86 Mids advanced to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.
•    Behind then-junior David Robinson, Navy compiled a 30-5 overall record and defeated Tulsa, Syracuse and Cleveland State in the NCAA Tournament before falling to Duke in the regional final.  
•    Robinson was the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year and earned multiple All-America accolades.  He averaged 22.8 points, 13.0 rebounds and 5.9 blocks per game.  He recorded 207 blocks on the year, which bettered every team in the country except for the 213 by eventual national champion Louisville.
•    The 30 victories remains a service academy record.

Woods to Captain Mids
•     Mike Woods will serve as the captain of the men's basketball team for the 2025-26 season.

Service Assignments Announced Soon
•     Seniors at the USNA will learn of their service assignment in either the Navy or Marine Corps over lunch on Thursday, Nov. 20.

Navy Good Again on the Offensive Boards 
•    Navy has been very good over the last number of years at winning the offensive rebound margin.
•    The Mids are +1,047 in offensive rebounding margin over the last 12 seasons.

Three-Point Plays 
•    Austin Benigni (43) and Donovan Draper (24) lead the team for the most career three-point play opportunities.
•    Jinwoo Kim's two this year is pacing the team.
•    Benigni has had at least one three-point play opportunity in 32 career games, as well as in 27 of the 67 games since the start of his sophomore year.