The men's basketball team will host the Third Annual Bob Knight Camping Trip in Happy Valley at 8 p.m. tonight at Rec Hall when the Indiana coach and his Hoosiers visit, equipped with their motion offense and skillful rebounding.

But they better not bring any sleeping bags.

The Lions (10-2, 2-1 Big Ten), coming off back-to-back victories against two teams they have never beaten before (Michigan and Ohio State), are looking to eliminate the Hoosiers (10-6, 2-2) from that exclusive group.

"Indiana is one of the highest profile teams across the country," said Penn State Coach Bruce Parkhill. "Indiana very, very rarely beats themselves."

That is a bad omen for the Lions, who are 0-6 against Indiana. But the Hoosiers are coming off a 78-67 loss to Illinois and are fifth in the conference standings. If ever the Hoosiers are susceptible to a loss, it is now.

"Penn State has played very well," Knight said. "They do some things defensively that make them tough to play against. Offensively they do the same thing. It will once again be a matter of what we do from the standpoint of concentration."

The Hoosiers will focus on the Lions' inside duo of power forward Glenn Sekunda and center John Amaechi, the team leaders in scoring and rebounding, respectively. Sekunda, at 6 feet 7 inches, is both a smooth shooter and tough rebounder and leads the Lions with 17 points per game. Amaechi, a 6-feet-10-inch widebody, adds 15.9 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.

"Indiana is a great rebounding team," Parkhill said, addressing his primary concern about the Hoosiers. "They're not just good, they're outstanding. The problems we've had in the past have really come back to haunt us."

Second in the Big Ten with 41.3 rebounds per game, the Hoosiers are led on the boards by 6-feet-9-inch senior forward Alan Henderson's 8.8 rebounds per game. A preseason All-America candidate, Henderson also paces the Hoosiers in scoring with a 24.3 points per game average.

"It will be a huge matchup," said Amaechi of his seventh confrontation with Henderson. "He's a great player. There are very few of his caliber. He's one of those players with the complete package."

Adding another dimension to the inside-outside threat is 6-feet-8-inch junior forward Brian Evans, who averages 18.2 points and 7.7 rebounds.

However, this is a relatively young Hoosier squad and only Henderson has started all 16 games. Freshman guard Neil Reed has taken over point guard duties for the graduated Damon Bailey, while the deadly duo of three-point threats Pat Graham and Todd Leary have also departed.

This is not the same Hoosier ballclub that has given Penn State fits at Rec Hall the past two seasons. The Lions' dramatic, 88-84 double overtime loss to the top-ranked Hoosiers two years ago marked the beginning of a Rec Hall rivalry between the Big Ten's premier member and its newest.

"I have a feeling it's not a real big factor," Parkhill said of the Feb. 9, 1993 contest. But he admits that 'it's certainly something that I cringe when I think about it."

The factors involved in that game:

Those who wore crimson were ranked No. 1 in the nation and in danger of being upset, when a blown call helped the Hoosiers drag play past regulation against . . .

Those who wore white and had been victorious only once in their first season in the Big Ten were 17.3 seconds away from their second win until . . .

Those who wore stripes intervened with a called foul by referee Sam Lickliter, who blew the whistle against Lions' guard Greg Bartram on an inbounds pass. Bartram's jersey was on the receiving end of a tug by Hoosier guard Chris Reynolds but drew the personal foul, enraging . . .

Those in the stands, who were furious with disapproval on a blown call made obvious first by slow motion replays and later by the Big Ten's own admission. Penn State fans still haven't gotten over the loss.

Now, two years later, the Lions and Hoosiers take the floor at the Rec Hall, possibly for the last time. Construction is underway to build a new arena -- the Bryce Jordan Center -- and is expected to be completed for the 1995-96 season. If so, the most storied basketball rivalry in the 67-year-old facility's history will lose a bit of significance.

"It's a great atmosphere," Parkhill said. "There are few arenas in the country left that have this kind of atmosphere."