It didn't even cross his mind three years ago.

The possibility of being dismissed from Ohio State was not something Men's Basketball Coach Randy Ayers thought about. And justifiably so.

His Buckeyes had just captured the prestigious Big Ten Conference crown for the second consecutive year and were headed into the NCAA tournament for the third straight season.

But Ayers and the rest of the Ohio State program have fallen on tough times -- especially this year. At 8 p.m. tomorrow, the Buckeyes (4-8, 0-2 Big Ten) host an upstart Penn State team (9-2, 1-1) on their home court --St. John Arena.

"It's always hard to match up with John (Amaechi)," Ayers said. "We got to come aggressive to start the game."

But that won't be easy.

Four of the Buckeyes' top scorers, including leading scorer and rebounder Lawrence Funderburke and assist leader Jamie Skelton, are gone from a team that finished 13-16 overall and 6-12 in the Big Ten last year.

Meanwhile, Derek Anderson, who averaged 15 points per game last season, and Nate Wilbourne both transferred.

And the situation worsened. Off-season legal problems surfaced surrounding three Buckeyes -- center Gerald Eaker, forward Charles Macon and guard Greg Simpson.

Simpson was arrested for assault charges, Macon allegedly stole gasoline and drove under the influence and Eaker allegedly shot out a teammate's tire. All were dismissed from the team.

Despite all the success Ayers brought to the Buckeyes' program in just five seasons, his job as men's basketball coach looked grim.

"I don't think anybody could envision that," Ayers said of his drastic turnaround.

In fact, at the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tip-off Luncheon in Indianapolis this year, Ayers said the guy he was most happy to have back from last year was himself.

Besides Ayers, the Buckeyes return 6-foot-9 senior center Antonio Watson, who has been counted upon heavily to carry the scoring load. But Watson hasn't been able to carry the team alone.

Ohio State lost its season opener in the Preseason National Invitational Tournament to Ohio University on Nov. 16, and has since struggled.

"We're still trying to establish a base," Ayers said. "We have a chance to be competitive. We need to be an established home team."

That is what Ayers and the rest of the Buckeyes want to accomplish, starting tomorrow with Penn State.

Lion Coach Bruce Parkhill's teams have yet to beat Ohio State since joining the Big Ten three years ago. And he said despite all the turmoil the Buckeyes have endured recently, he expects a tough game.

"It just seemed like we could not put the ball in the basket," Parkhill said of previous meetings. "We've had good games with Ohio State, we just haven't won one."

But the Lions have been able to win this year and look to continue doing so tomorrow. And someone Parkhill is counting on to help do it is senior Donovan Williams.

Although he has struggled with injuries nearly his entire career at Happy Valley, Williams has pressed on and is now healthy.

"Donovan has really been a shot in the arm," Parkhill said. "He's provided athleticism, defense . . . he's even showing some leadership with the younger guys."

One of Williams' apprentices is freshman guard Damien McKnight.

"A lot of times I get frustrated at practice and he'll just pull me aside and tell me some things I'm not supposed to know," McKnight said. "He's been where I'm at now and he's just helped me a lot."