Everything seems to be falling into place for the Penn State men's basketball team.

With six games left in the regular season, starting tonight at Minnesota, the Nittany Lions find themselves in a peculiar position.

Penn State finds itself on the NCAA Tournament bubble and, believe it or not, the Lions are holding an upper hand on its opponents going into the final stretch.

The Lions are 14-7 overall and 4-6 in the Big Ten and their schedule is definitely in their favor. Minnesota, Purdue, Northwestern, Michigan State, Iowa and Ohio State remain on the regular season slate, followed by the all-important Big Ten Tournament.

Penn State has also found itself in a unique position with the list of injuries its opponents have sustained in the past few weeks, which are unfortunate for the opposition, but for Penn State, can pay great dividends.

The Golden Gophers will be without team captain John-Blair Bickerstaff, who broke his leg and will be out for the rest of the season. When the Lions face Purdue at The Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday, the Boilermakers will be without top scorer Rodney Smith and leading rebounder John Allison, both sidelined with foot injuries. And when Penn State challenges Iowa on March 1, the Hawkeyes will be without top player Luke Recker.

All of those injuries — plus having Michigan State and Ohio State at home — will make for an interesting final few weeks in Happy Valley.

It is Penn State's season to waste. All year long, the three senior starters, Joe Crispin, Titus Ivory and Gyasi Cline-Heard, have harped to the media that they have learned from each loss. The trio has repeatedly said they won't allow the Lions to fall through the cracks during their senior season.

Crispin, Ivory and Cline-Heard have all said that this is their season and they are going to make the most of every opportunity. Well guys, it's time to stop talking.

Three of their next six opponents' top players will be sitting and watching the games from the bench with injuries. Penn State hosts No. 5 Michigan State and Ohio State, and travels to Northwestern. There are no excuses to come out of this stretch with a losing record.

Starting tonight, the ball is in the Lions' court. They have a chance to get off the NCAA Tournament bubble and go into the Big Ten Tournament on a high note. ESPN.com already has early Tournament predictions and has the Lions projected as a No. 11 seed in the Midwest Region. Other projections are popping up daily as the college basketball season winds down.

But none of those will matter if Penn State doesn't play to its potential in the next three weeks when they have the chance of a lifetime. A chance many former Penn State basketball players can never brag of. This team can brag that it will be playing in the NCAA Tournament.