Wait a minute.

Didn't the men's basketball team just complete an arduous six-game road trip and a stint where it played 10 out of its first 12 games on the road?

One might think that this team deserves a much-needed rest at Rec Hall.

Guess again.

The Lions (10-4), winners of two blowouts at Rec Hall, have hit the road again. This time they travel to West Virginia, in what has been the story of this year besides injuries -- life on the road.

In the past, a trip to West Virginia has usually meant a pit stop at the Coliseum in Morgantown for an Atlantic 10 mel with the Mountaineers.

This time it's to Huntington to quell the Thundering Herd from Marshall who, at 3-8, will give the Lions all they can handle in the noisy Henderson Center.

But this pit stop is a key one for the Lions and Marshall's 3-8 record is deceiving. Marshall is an athletic team and it could pose matchup problems for the Lions.

Case in point: Dec. 29. Any Penn State fan need look no further than the consolation round of the West Palm Beach Classic in which Penn State pulled away in the final minutes to beat Marshall, 78-64, at the West Palm Beach neutral site.

After slipping 71-57 to George Washington in the first round of the winter tournament, the first Marshall contest turned into a gut check for the Lions. Since that game, they have played with much more emotion, even in the two losses at Ohio State and James Madison. And now, the team is playing its best basketball of the season heading into tonight's contest.

"We're playing a lot better than last time we played them," said guard Monroe Brown. "It (the first Marshall contest) was definitely a turning point. We had to dig down and get some enthusiasm."

Tonight's motive for Marshall is simple: revenge. Last year the Lions barely held off John Taft, who was one of the nation's leading scorers. This year, the Herds' main men are Malik Hightower and 3-point shooter and Harold Simmons. Penn State Coach Bruce Parkhill, however, already knows about them.

"Hopefully we're still familiar with their system," said a beaming Parkhill, who admitted that he, too, was wary of traveling on the road. "He (Hightower) is a real fine talent. And if we're not ready, we could be in for a rude awakening."

Tonight's game will be more than a battle on the hardwood. It's for the record books.

Junior forward DeRon Hayes should become the third current Penn State player to crack the millennium club this season, the 1,000-point mark in their careers. He needs only four points to join guards Freddie Barnes and the most recent inductee -- Monroe Brown.

It was Hayes' offense that cornerstoned the Lions' win over the Herd in December. He poured in 23 points and will be a key force again tonight.

But the Penn State defense has been largely responsible for the team's recent success. Monday, the Lions' defense snatched the game from Brown. Barnes and Brown suffocated Brown's backcourt, forced 21 turnovers and swiped 10 Bear passes which led to several fast break baskets and easy shots. Forward/center Brian Anderson, who has played in Dave Degitz's abscence (Degitz is questionable for tonight's game) had four of those steals.

And in Degitz's absence, the freshman walk-on has filled in admirably.

"Brian Anderson has been a godsend," the coach added. He's also pleased with Eric Carr who he said was "Doing a great job." He's posting up more than ever and using his mobility, freeing himself for potential alley-oops.

Tonight's game will be a homecoming for freshman guard Greg Bartram and freshman forward Matt Gaudio, a Follansbee, W.Va., native. But Gaudio predicted that the fans will be harsher on Bartram than on him.

"They're going to be on him real bad because that's his hometown," said Gaudio, last year's West Virginia's player of the year. "I don't know how they'll react to me."

However they react, it probably won't phase the 6-foot-7-inch freshman, who has battled in the paint despite his persistent back ailment this season.

Notes:

-- The Athletic Department will provide bus transportation for students to the Jan. 25th game against Penn at the Hershey Park Arena. Sign-ups for the bus trip will be at the Rec Hall ticket office Jan. 20 and 21 from 8:30 to 4:30. Tickets are $9 for the game and the roundtrip is free.

Any remaining reserved seat Penn state student tickets will be available at the Rec Hall Ticket Office from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. Tickets are free; one per student with I.D.