Indiana will play a road game in early January at one of college basketball’s most historic venues.
The Hoosiers’ road game at Penn State will be held on Jan. 5 at the Palestra in Philadelphia. That’s according to a report by Jon Rothstein.
The Nittany Lions started a tradition of hosting games in the “Cathedral of College Basketball” in 2017. Penn State has played 62 total games in The Palestra dating back to 1927.
The historic Palestra, on the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia, opened on Jan. 1, 1927. The Palestra has hosted more games, more visiting teams and more NCAA tournaments than any other facility in college basketball. At the time of its construction, it was one of the world’s largest arenas.
The Palestra has a capacity of 8,700.
In 2005, when ESPN asked its four college basketball experts for their favorite arenas, The Palestra was at or near the top of each one’s list. Jay Bilas said “it is one of the true gems of the sports world, right up there with Wrigley Field.”
The building was named at the suggestion of Greek professor Dr. William N. Bates who reasoned that the name fit because in Ancient Greece, young men would compete in a variety of events in a rectangular enclosure (a Palestra) in view of spectators
Indiana has played in the Palestra, but it has been a while. Here are the games we’ve been able to confirm so far. There may be others, and we’ll update this story if that’s the case:
- 1929, vs. Penn
- 1930, vs. Penn
- 1956, vs. LaSalle
The city of Philadelphia also has historical significance to IU basketball, as the Hoosiers won national title games there in both 1976 and 1981.
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