GAME NOTES: Fresh off one of the biggest upsets in recent memory, the Penn State Nittany Lions now go after 24th-ranked Purdue in Big Ten action in West Lafayette. The Lions went into this past weekend having lost six straight games and were presumably on their way to number seven, but a funny thing happened versus seventh-ranked Michigan State at the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State refused to back down and came away with a resounding 85-76 victory over the Spartans, marking the first time the Nittany Lions have beaten a ranked team at the Jordan Center since 2001. As for the Boilermakers, they entered the week tied for first place in the Big Ten standings with a record of 8-1. On Saturday, Purdue won its seventh straight and the 10th in the last 11 games with an 83-75 decision over Illinois. As a result, the Boilermakers cracked into the top-25. Purdue won the first meeting of the season between the squads with a 64-42 thrashing of the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley back on January 23. As a result, the Boilermakers now lead the all-time series with PSU by a count of 19-9.

The Nittany Lions made it happen on Saturday night by shooting 24-of-35 at the free-throw line in the second half, converting 34-of-51 overall versus Michigan State at home in Happy Valley. Stanley Pringle posted a team-high 19 points, Talor Battle 17, Jamelle Cornley 15 points and Mike Walker 10 off the bench in just 17 minutes in a game that saw an incredible 18 ties and 12 lead changes. With Geary Claxton going down with an injury and taking his top scoring (17.5) and rebounding (8.4) numbers with him, the Nittany Lions didn't figure on having too many more wins in league play this season. Cornley remains the only active double-digit scorer for Penn State with his 12.2 ppg and while he is shooting an impressive 51.7 percent from the field, he is still allowing far too many points to slip away at the free-throw line where he is just 52.8 percent accurate. As a team, the Nittany Lions have hurt themselves with just 60.3 percent shooting at the charity stripe through 21 games.

The Boilermakers did most of their damage in the first half on Saturday when they shot 5-of-11 behind the three-point line to grab an eight-point lead over Illinois on the road. E'Twaun Moore converted all but two of his 12 field goals attempts to come up with a career-high 24 points for Purdue, followed by reserves Marcus Green and Tarrance Crump with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Purdue doesn't have a standout offensive force this season, rather a consistent lineup of scorers who can trade off being the leader from game to game. Moore and Keaton Grant both lead the team in scoring with 11.0 ppg, the latter shooting 45.5 percent from three-point range and the former 41.9 percent. Robbie Hummel, who is 43.9 percent beyond the arc, adds 10.1 ppg and is first with both 5.8 rpg and 61 assists. No one on the team is playing more than 29 minutes per game at the moment, allowing several players to see significant time on a regular basis.

Penn State is probably still celebrating the huge win from the weekend, but keeping up that intensity, on the road no less, is not an easy feat for anyone.