Fresh off a 10-8 season that set all sorts of program records, Ed DeChellis hopes to lead his team to its first NCAA Tournament berth in 8 years.  We’ve already written up an overview of the out-of-conference schedule, so this finalizes the docket for the Nittany Lions.

The Big Ten conference finally released its 2009-2010 matchups for all 11 teams, and we’ve arranged for you Penn State’s conference games.

It’s the same 18-game, 9-home, 9-away schedule as last year, but we do have a couple changes.  As with last year, there are two teams that Penn State only play once.  They will not visit Illinois, and will not host Iowa.  This is a major disappointment, not just because I’m sure Penn State would love retribution against the team that held them out of the NCAA tournament, but because those are two teams who should remain bottom dwellers in the conference, Iowa most of all following a mass exodus of transfers.  On the bright side, I guess it makes our strength of schedule a little better.  Call me crazy, but with a young group of kids and a team that I don’t have much of a handle on, I’d prefer the easier opponents.

Now, let’s take a look at the games:

2009-10 BIG TEN MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

DECEMBER
29  at MINNESOTA 9 p.m. ESPN2

JANUARY
3 Wisconsin 2 p.m. Big Ten Network
7 Michigan 7 p.m. ESPN2
12 at ILLINOIS 9 p.m. Big Ten Network
16 at IOWA 1 p.m. Big Ten Network
21 Indiana 7 p.m. ESPN/ESPN2
24 at WISCONSIN 2:30 p.m. Big Ten Network
27 Illinois 6:30 p.m. Big Ten Network
31 at PURDUE 3 p.m. Big Ten Network

FEBRUARY
3 at OHIO STATE 6:30 p.m. Big Ten Network
6 Minnesota  2 p.m. Big Ten Network
13 Michigan State Noon ESPN
17 at NORTHWESTERN8:30 p.m. Big Ten Network
20 at MICHIGAN 6 p.m. Big Ten Network
24 Ohio State 6:30 p.m. Big Ten Network
28 Northwestern Noon Big Ten Network

MARCH
3 at MICHIGAN STATE 6:30 p.m./8:30 p.m. Big Ten Network/ESPN/CBS
6/7 Purdue at Penn State 2:30 p.m./Noon/4 p.m. Big Ten Network/ESPN/CBS

Looking solely at the schedule, though, it’s pretty fair.  There are no homestands longer than 2 games, and no roadtrips that exceed that length as well.  The tough stretch will be the back end of the schedule, as the last two games are among the most difficult of the schedule.  On one hand, it could provide a team that needs a marquee win with a big one at the end of the season, or it could trigger a collapse.  The games are also flex games, with no defined time-or date, for the latter-and flexible TV broadcasting.

Now, I can’t say I expect this team to be better than last year–I’d settle for another run deep into the NIT–so I really won’t overanalyze this schedule too much.

I’ll close with this: the other thing that’s nice to see is that Penn State will play 4 games to a national audience, even better that 2 of them are over winter break, when I don’t get the BTN.  But you do have to hand it to the Big Ten Network, by broadcasting every game, they make it a hell of a lot easier to follow not just the Nittany Lions, but any Big Ten program.