Penn State basketball facing bleak outlook ahead of 2026-27 season

It’s no secret that Penn State is one of the least dangerous teams in Big Ten basketball. They’ve finished with a losing record in four of the last six years and haven’t won more than half of their games in the conference in that span.

To top it all off, head coach Mike Rhoades’ seat seems to be getting increasingly warmer, and the roster lost many players to the transfer portal. The Nittany Lions have a tricky path to getting the basketball program back in a stable place and everyone knows it. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports recently released his Big Ten preseason power rankings, where he had Penn State all the way at the bottom at No. 18.

Big Ten Preseason Power Rankings. pic.twitter.com/vB4ZLUBMWm

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) July 15, 2026

The team has one of the weaker rosters in the conference and unfortunately they don’t have much experience to make up for the lack of talent. They also don’t have much height or many versatile athletes, so they face a myriad of challenges everywhere they look.

The one bright spot for the Nittany Lions is that they played excellently until they began conference play last year. If they can repeat this season but carry that momentum into the matchups against Big Ten teams, then they can prove some people wrong this season.

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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State basketball facing bleak outlook ahead of 2026-27 season