The men's basketball team is on a mission that many would have considered impossible just a few days ago.

But Monday night's upset of nationally ranked West Virginia has buoyed the Lions one step closer to the ultimate dream in collegiate basketball - the NCAA Tournament, the Road to the Final Four, the Battle for Seattle.

All the Lions have to do now is beat Rutgers at 9:30 tonight on the Knights' home court in front of 9,000 raucous fans in an atmosphere Rutgers Coach Bob Wenzel calls "absolutely electric."

While the conditions will undoubtedly give Rutgers an advantage, the Lions, winners of eight of their last 10 games, enter this evening's contest on a hot streak. They've hit better than 50 percent of their field goal attempts in their last six games, including 54.9 percent on Monday. One of the best rebounding teams in the country, Penn State has outrebounded its opponents in 22 of 29 games this season, including a 34-23 edge over the Mountaineers.

Center Ed Fogell is coming on strong at the end of the season, scoring a career-high 28 points in Monday's victory. Tom Hovasse, who still leads the team in scoring at over 18 points per game, should be at full strength, as long as he makes it through the pre-game meal without incident. On Monday in a much-heralded accident, Hovasse sliced not only his dinner roll but also the webbing between his third and fourth fingers on his left (non-shooting) hand. The wound required four stitches.

Parkhill said Hovasse would be provided with a rubber knife and boxing gloves for today's meal.

Despite the numbers, the Lions were hardly picked to advance to the championship final for the first time ever. And, after losing to West Virginia by 43 combined points in two earlier meetings this season, the Lions certainly weren't expected to rout the 'Eers by 22 in the A-10 tourney.

Perhaps most significantly, no one gave the Lions a shot at the NCAA tournament when they were a mediocre 11-8 after losing to Rutgers -- yes, Rutgers -- on Feb. 2.

And yet, there they are, those Nittany Lions, poised for their first 20-win season and NCAA appearance since 1965.

However, the obstacle in their way, namely the Scarlet Knights, will not fall easily like they did at Rec Hall on Feb. 13, when the Lions administered a 93-65 beating. Though Wenzel said that game is one he'd like to forget, chances are his players haven't.

"It will give them even more incentive," Lions forward Bruce Blake predicted.

But the Lions have some incentive of their own -- in the form of four seniors and an aggressive group of younger players who don't want their season to end.

"Here, there are a lot of people who are gung-ho and happy," guard Christian Appleman said. "But our job isn't done yet. It's OK for the fans to do that, we want them to. But we're on a mission and we're not quite finished yet."

But beating West Virginia was a very good place to start.

"We really wanted another shot at West Virginia," Parkhill said. "That end of the mission has been completed and now we're on the second end of it (today). I think that's how we have to look at it. I don't want the guys to get caught up in the distractions that could take place."

And the distractions, from ESPN's cameras to scarlet pompons, should be aplenty.

"The crowd can't play the game," freshman point guard Freddie Barnes said. "We just have to go out there and play. We're pretty confident."

"I look at it as being just another game," Appleman said. "They're just another team that stands in the way of us making postseason play."

When the Lions shoot well (above 50 percent) and outrebound their opposition, they usually win. But tonight defense, particularly against Knights' Tom Savage and Rick Dadika - constant threats from the perimeter - could be the key.

"We have to stop those two," Barnes said. "And the three others, we can't let them hurt us."

"I believe you have to always know where those two guys are," Parkhill said. "They're outstanding shooters, they're very good overall players. But I don't think Rutgers has gotten this far with a two-man team."

Whether Penn State wins or losses tonight, its season will not, in all probability, end. Nineteen wins should be sufficient to gain one of the 32 bids to the National Invitation Tournament, and the victory over the 'Eers has to be beneficial.

"That helps an awful lot," NIT executive director John J. Powers said. "Plus, look at the team itself coming on strong at the end of the season. They're a nationally known football power and they're coming on in basketball, and that's exciting. I'm sure the committee will look at that."

Fred White will provide tonight's play-by-play for ESPN. Clark Kellogg is the color commentator.