Penn State Basketball: Nittany Lions Back in Top 25

Penn State men’s basketball is back in the AP Top 25 poll. 

The Nittany Lions reentered the poll at No. 24 after defeating previously-ranked No. 21 Ohio State 90-76 at the BJC last Saturday, and took down Michigan 72-63 in their next contest.

Pat Chambers’ squad fell out of the poll after being ranked for a month when it lost three consecutive games to the likes of Rutgers, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Penn State bounced back in a big way with its wins over the Buckeyes and Wolverines, though. Lamar Stevens led the way in both games with 24 and 19 points, respectively. 

Stevens and Co. now hold a 14-5 record overall and a 4-4 mark in Big Ten play. 

The Nittany Lions now join five other Big Ten squads ranked in the Top 25. No. 14 Michigan State, No. 15 Maryland, No. 18 Iowa, No. 19 Illinois, and No. 25 Rutgers are all still ranked in the poll. 

Penn State sits between No. 23 Wichita State and No. 25 Rutgers in this week’s poll. Baylor remains to be the No. 1 team in the nation with a 17-1 overall record, while Gonzaga trails behind at No. 2 for the second consecutive week. 

While the Nittany Lions can celebrate breaking their three-game skid and are back in the AP Top 25, touch challenges still lay ahead. Chambers and his squad will welcome Indiana to the BJC at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The Hoosiers are currently 15-5 overall and 5-4 in the Big Ten, and boast wins over Michigan State and Ohio State.