City of Basketball Love

Marley Paul (@MarleyPaul22)
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Although most of the highlights were already revealed, the Penn State 2016-17 non-conference schedule was officially released Wednesday. Pat Chambers, entering his sixth season at the helm of the program, has put together possibly the most challenging schedule in his tenure with meetings against multiple postseason-worthy teams.

Coming off a .500 season, including seven Big Ten wins (the most in the Chambers era), Penn State welcomes a young team -- expected to feature six first-time PSU contributors, five of whom are freshmen. An exhibition versus Lock Haven in the Bryce Jordan Center on Nov. 4 will be the first time the new-look Nittany Lions are displayed in Happy Valley.

As previously reported, Penn State's inclusion in the Hall of Fame Tipoff will draw a matchup against Duke, a likely top 5 team with its second-ranked 2016 recruiting class. The Blue Devils-Nittany Lions game in Uncasville, Conn. is slated for a 12:30 p.m. tipoff and will air on ESPN3. 

Trips to Washington D.C. and New York City are on the calendar for the second straight season: at George Washington Nov. 26 and St. John's at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 18. Add a stop in New Jersey, a Dec. 10 game against in-state rival Pittsburgh at the Prudential Center, and Chambers will showcase his buzzing program in major fertile recruiting areas.

“We are looking forward to taking on a challenging set of opponents during non-conference play,” Chambers said in a press release. “We built this schedule with the goal of testing our players early and preparing us for Big Ten play. We are excited to return to Madison Square Garden and the NYC area, as well as getting back to D.C. for the second year in a row.”

Among the eight home games on schedule, the Big Ten/ACC Challenge game versus Georgia Tech and a Dec. 7 matchup with George Mason are the highlights of action played on the Nittany Lions' home court. 

The season-opener on Nov. 11 was previously scheduled against Marist, however, after the cancellation of Albany-Duke due to the HB2 law, it's reported that coach Krzyzewski's team will switch opponents with Penn State.

In totality, the first half of Penn State's schedule will present early challenges for a growing roster that may not be tournament ready this season, but is hopeful early-season adversity will breed a battle-tested team that provides a viable threat to familiar foes in conference play.

The Big Ten previously announced its conference season pairings, but will the official schedule with dates and times is expected to be released later this summer.