The men's basketball team is on a roll and appears to have some momemtum. That's the good news.

The bad news is that momentum has meant nothing this season.

Case in point: the Lions rode a four-game winning streak into Butler on Jan. 21. They were coming off their best performance of the season, a 87-73 win over Miami (Ohio). But in Indy, the team committed 28 fouls, was outrebounded 37-20 and went on to lose 79-74.

That loss hurt, but it couldn't compare to the next game against Penn. The Quakers upset the Lions 87-86 in overtime. The four-game winning streak was long forgotten after that.

"That's been a pattern we've been addressing for a couple months now," Coach Bruce Parkhill said. "We had that pattern when we won seven in a row and really played poorly for a couple of games. We've been harping on breaking out of that."

Well, the Lions are on, dare we say it, a roll once again. They have won three in a row, all at home, and are coming off another impressive win Monday night.

Penn State defeated former Atlantic-10 rival Duquesne 69-59. It was the first time at Rec Hall this season that the Lions trailed at halftime, and the win put them at 15-6.

Now comes the litmus test. The Lions hit the road and put the winning streak on the line tonight at Old Dominion. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:35.

The Monarchs enter the game with a 7-10 mark. Their last game was a 102-92 win over William & Mary on Saturday. An advantage for the Lions is Old Dominion's style of play.

"Old Dominion plays a similar style to Duquesne," Parkhill said. "It just seems like we're always packing our bags. But at least we can see the light at the end of the tunnel with more home games than road games."

Senior forward Ricardo Leonard has led the team in scoring in all but three games. The 6-foot-7-inch Leonard averages over 23 points and is coming off a 33-point performance on Saturday. In that game Leonard went 17-of-20 from the charity stripe, averaging 10 free throws a game.

Penn State's postseason hopes hinge on its last seven games. The seniors don't want their last season to end the first week of March.

"I'm taking upon myself to make sure we don't come out flat anymore," point guard Freddie Barnes said. "There'll be no more games like Penn."

Notes: The health of forward Elton Carter remains in doubt. Parkhill said he won't know until right before the game if Carter, who continues to have knee problems, will be able to play . . . This will be the first ever meeting between Old Dominion and Penn State, but the Lions' coach is very familar with the Monarchs. While coaching at William & Mary, Parkhill went 4-9 against ODU . . . Included in Old Dominion's record is a win at George Washington (86-85) and losses to American (79-74) and James Madison (92-76).