Dons to play Michigan, Penn State in men’s basketball

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Fresh off a 23-win season last season, the 2024-25 Purdue Fort Wayne men’s basketball non-league schedule has been released.

The ‘Dons will open the 2024-25 season Nov. 4 at home against Bluffton at the Gates Sports Center. The home non-league slate also features a visit by Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 12 and Southern Indiana on Nov. 16. It is the third consecutive season the ‘Dons and Screaming Eagles have played. It is a series that dates back to 1984. On Dec. 20, the Mastodons will host Defiance at the Gates Sports Center.

The road slate features a pair of visits to Florida and three games against major conference opponents. First up is a Nov. 8 contest at Big 12 foe Central Florida. The ‘Dons have never played the Golden Knights. On Nov. 20 the ‘Dons will play at Big 10 foe Penn State for the first time since 2005. Nov. 25 and 26 finds the ‘Dons back in Florida, this time at Daytona Beach for the Sunshine Slam. The field features Drexel, Radford and Chicago State. The ‘Dons will then head to Commerce, Texas on Nov. 30 to take on Texas A&M-Commerce for a third consecutive season. In December, the ‘Dons will play a pair of road games in Michigan. First up is a trip to Eastern Michigan on Dec. 15. The ‘Dons won the last meeting with Eastern Michigan 74-67 in Cancun in 2022. A week later the ‘Dons head to Michigan for a contest on Dec. 22 for the second trip to Ann Arbor in three seasons.

The Mastodon men’s basketball team won 23 games last season and advanced to the CIT Championship game.  The Mastodons return four of five starters in 2024-25 with Rasheed Bello, Jalen Jackson, Quinton Morton-Robertson and Eric Mulder back for the ‘Dons from the starting five.

The 2024-25 Horizon League schedule will be announced at a later date.

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