It's tough to win in the Big Ten and even tougher to win away from home.

Unfortunately for Jerry Dunn and the rest of the Nittany Lions (11-3, 2-2), this is where they will play three out of their next four conference games.

Penn State opens its four-game road trip with a game against Indiana tomorrow night at Alumni Hall. Then the Lions travel to Illinois for a Saturday afternoon tip-off.

From there Penn State will finish off its road schedule with a non-conference game against Yale on Jan. 23, but before the Lions return home for a matchup with Illinois two weeks from Wednesday, they will tangle with Wisconsin next Saturday.

"We have to be tougher mentally on the road than we do at home," Dunn said.

While Dunn's words echo what a lot of Big Ten coaches have said in the past, the stretch Penn State is on could determine where this team is headed in terms of the postseason.

Despite a win against Ohio State on the road last Wednesday, the Lions struggled to put away Michigan State when they held a lead midway through the second half to open their Big Ten season. In the loss against the Spartans, Penn State was outscored 61-25 in the second half which is something the Lions can not afford to give up against any team in the Big Ten.

The win against the Buckeyes was based on its sharp shooting from the perimeter. The Lions connected on 13 out of their 26 three-point attempts that sealed Ohio State's fate.

Although it was a win, Penn State did have a hard time shutting down Buckeye big man Ken Johnson, who had 24 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

When Penn State plays against Indiana and Illinois, it will face a variety of big men. Indiana has a pair of them in Kirk Haston and Jarred Jefferies.

Both of these players average double digits in points almost every time they step on the floor.

Haston was named last week's Big Ten Player of Week after his game winner against Michigan State.

Illionis on the other hand has its own talent with Corey Bradford, Marcus Griffin and Frank Williams paving the way for Illini success. All three can present nightmares for the opposing team and combine for more than 40 points per contest.

While the atmosphere in Happy Valley appears to be confident, several players know they will need to play a lot stronger in the upcoming games for the Lions to be successful.

"We need to play hard for 40 minutes," Brandon Watkins said. "Penn State is always been known as a second half team, but we just need to come out and play well the whole game."