Jon Crispin had predicted a win in tonight's game against Yale.

The sophomore who was pulled from the starting lineup against Illinois refuses to get down on himself and his team after back to back losses to Indiana and Illinois.

"I'm gonna go there and say it's gonna be nice to get a win," Crispin said. "I mean were playing Yale and we need a win and its going to be nice to go out there and get one."

Crispin and the rest of the Penn State men's basketball team finally get a break from conference play when it takes on the Bulldogs tonight at 7.

But the Nittany Lions (11-5, 2-4 Big Ten) better not overlook Yale (6-9, 3-0 Ivy League). Regardless of what Crispin says, if Penn State is not careful they might be setting themselves up for disaster.

The Bulldogs are on a five-game winning streak and could pose a problem for the Lions.

"I don't think you can call it a confidence builder because then you're setting yourself up for some serious problems," Dunn said. "They have some big guys that shoot the ball well. They execute their stuff."

It will be Penn State's first non-conference battle since the ECAC Holiday Classic during the Christmas holiday.

Taking a respite from Big Ten play in the middle of its conference schedule, Penn State could be looking forward to a few days off after two brutal losses to Indiana and Illinois.

However, because of a schedule change earlier in the season, which would have put the Lions on the road for five straight days, Penn State decided to switch the Yale game with its open date during conference play.

Usually, changes like this run the risk of a team not gaining much from going to a non-conference opponent's place and chancing a catastrophic loss.

But the Lions haven't played particularly well in their last three outings, and after a 92-60 shellacking on Saturday at Illinois, the Lions need a win right now to bring some of the confidence teams usually lose during tough stretches in conference play.

Penn State men's basketball coach Jerry Dunn doesn't want to say that tomorrow's game against Yale will be a breeze because he doesn't want his players to overlook a worthy non-conference opponent.

The Lions, who shot 27 percent at Illinois with 4-for-25 first-half shooting, really don't have any room to take any opponent lightly.

The last time the Lions faced an Ivy League school was during the Christmas holidays, when they faced Princeton in the ECAC Holiday Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Penn State was victorious 65-52 in its last holiday tournament matchup against the Tigers, one of the premier teams in the Ivy League, which is known for its slow, steady offensive attack and consistent play.

But Yale men's basketball coach James Jones said the Bulldogs are dissimilar from most Ivy League schools because his squad has size, depth and a good transition game.

Jones said he is more interested in finding a way of containing the Penn State perimeter — namely, the Crispins and Titus Ivory — who have cause numerous problems for opponents this season.

"Joe is a guy who shoots coming off the bus," Jones said. "But if you spend too much time worrying about him, Ivory will get you."

The Lions quickly get back on the conference track after tonight as they travel to Wisconsin for a matchup with the Badgers on Saturday night.