Numbers, Narratives, and Urgency: Friars Return to Mohegan Sun to take on Penn State

Photo Courtesy of Carl Rizzo at gameone_photography

When Providence returns to Mohegan Sun to play Penn State on Saturday, there will be a heightened sense of urgency — on a few different fronts.

Through five games, PC is 3-2 on the season, falling in their two high-major contests to date — a 107-101 overtime loss against Virginia Tech and last Friday’s 97-88 defeat in Colorado.

Meanwhile, the novelty of playing at Mohegan Sun Arena is wearing off. After rousing victories against Notre Dame and Florida State a decade ago, and knocking off UConn (90-76) in a charity game in 2017, Providence hasn’t won there since a 76-67 victory against South Carolina in 2018.

PC is 3-6 all-time at Mohegan Sun, having most recently lost to the likes of Michigan, Miami, St. Louis, St. Bonaventure, and Va Tech.

The Nittany Lions are young and have been disciplined to date.

They will bring a 5-0 record with them to Connecticut, but Mike Rhoades’ team hasn’t played a high-major opponent yet — notching wins over Fairfield (76-68), New Haven (87-43), Navy (80-71), La Salle (83-69), and Harvard (84-80).

Here’s what to watch for:

PSU will lean heavily on its guard trio.

Following the graduation of star guard Ace Baldwin (who played for Rhoades at VCU before following him to Happy Valley), Penn State has a new-look backcourt — one infused with youth and size.

The headliner is freshman Kayden Mingo, a Long Island Lutheran graduate and top 40 player in the class of 2025 who wasted no time in making an impact. He’s averaging 17.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 4.4 APG. He hasn’t done much beyond the arc (18%), but Mingo’s numbers from the field (50%) and at the stripe (78%) are impressive. He has good size at 6’3 and could present problems for a PC team that has struggled to stop dribble penetration.

Redshirt junior Freddie Dillione was a prized recruit coming out of high school, cracking the top 25 in some publications. He has length at 6’5 and is putting up 12.4 points in 25 minutes a night. Dillione started his career at Tennessee playing for Rick Barnes.

Penn State is getting great production from another freshman guard in Melih Tunca, out of Turkey. Like Dillione, he’s 6’5 and brings both scoring and playmaking capability. He’s shot 6-11 from three on the young season, and averages 14.4 points per game. Tunca is also putting up 4.2 assists, so Rhoades has a pair of frosh both giving him 4+ dimes every night.

Only three schools in the country have a pair of freshmen averaging over 14 points per game, and Penn State is one of them (Illinois and Arkansas are the others). Freshmen account for over half their points this year.

Rhoades’ group leaned on the pick and roll as much as almost anyone last season, and with Baldwin gone those numbers are down slightly, but considering Providence’s struggles to contain, and the potential size advantage in the backcourt, this will certainly be a focal point for both coaches.

What else should you know about PSU?