At first glance, the matchup may seem rather dull -- perhaps insignificant.

Penn State (11-12 overall, 4-10 Big Ten), tied for eighth in the conference, hosting Northwestern (12-11, 3-11), last in the Big Ten.

But a closer look reveals that more will be at stake when the Lions take on the Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. today in Rec Hall. The winner will take one step closer to perhaps becoming part of the 32-team field that makes up the National Invitation Tournament.

Lion Coach Bruce Parkhill insists his team can't afford to be looking ahead to postseason play, adding that his squad is still taking the one-game-at-a-time approach as the season winds down.

But Northwestern Coach Ricky Byrdsong isn't as shy.

"I would say we're thinking we have to win two of the next four," he said with respect to his team's outlook, adding that the NIT is in the back of his team's collective heads. "Obviously, I would be kidding you if I said they didn't have that as a motivation."

Parkhill and company will have to watch out for the streaking Wildcats. Byrdsong will be back on the sidelines for his third game since returning from a requested leave of absence in early February. A tactic which Byrdsong said he did purposely to motivate his team.

It must have worked. Northwestern has won three of its last five, including consecutive road victories over Wisconsin and Iowa.

Senior center Kevin Rankin leads Byrdsong's attack with 16 points, and 8.6 rebounds per contest. But the Cats have a well-balanced attack to say the least, with all five starters averaging in double figures in scoring.

"They're just a team that can hurt you a lot of different ways," Parkhill said. "I think they've been playing well all year."

Note:

-- Parkhill said backcourt players Michael Jennings (ankle) and Donovan Williams (nose) did not practice Monday, and would try to practice yesterday. Parkhill described their chances of playing tonight as, "questionable, if not doubtful."