"Every game we play is important."

These are the exact words that Penn State men's basketball coach Jerry Dunn preaches to the media choir every time he is asked about his Big Ten foes.

And tonight will be no exception.

In fact it is probably the biggest game of the early Big Ten season for the Nittany Lions.

The Lions will be on the road against a tough Buckeye team. Ohio State has one of the best big men in the country in Ken Johnson.

Johnson is averaging seven rebounds a game, while tossing in a little more than 11 points per contest.

But it's his defense this season that has given opponents nightmares. The 6-foot-11 senior leads the conference with 61 blocks.

Johnson's ability has lifted Ohio State to a 10-4 start and 1-1 in the Big Ten.

As for Penn State, after starting the season 9-1 in non-conference play with wins over Kentucky and Temple, the Lions have hit a wall in their games against Big Ten opponents Michigan State and Iowa.

In both games, Penn State has had the lead, but lost it down the stretch.

In the past couple of games, the Lions lack of production off the bench has hurt them.

In the loss to Michigan State the Lions graciously received only four points from their reserves. Then they responded and managed only six points against Iowa.

While Penn State's strength obviously lies within the strong shooting of Joe Crispin, his brother Jon, and Titus Ivory, the Lions will need everyone to step up in tonight's game.

It's a must win game for Penn State, regardless of what Dunn may say.

"I've always said, I think we have to take each game at a time and we can't magnify any one game," Dunn said. "I think it's a mistake to do that."

First of all, they must reestablish what they were preaching before the season began — by winning the close games.

They need to get the confidence back that they had earlier in the year after wins against the Wildcats and Owls.

While it might not be fading away, back-to-back losses in games they should have won tends to wear on a team that has received almost no production from its bench.

It was proven against Iowa that Crispin could not carry the whole team, although he tries.

Crispin finished with 35 points in the loss to the Hawkeyes. But tonight, he can not be relied on for the full 40 minutes.

The Lions need an inside presence and better hope they find it tonight, otherwise Johnson and the Buckeyes will make sure it will be a very long evening for Penn State.

While Dunn says there is no additional pressure on his team tonight and does not like to single out one individual game, this one is important.

They have dropped a pair of games to fellow Big Ten teams and every player playing knows the value of tonight's game.

Let's face it, starting off 0-3 in the Big Ten is a hole that even the top teams have a hard time digging out of, even if there are 13 games remaining on the conference schedule.

It's Ohio State, on the road, and it's a must win for the Lions.