With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Penn State men's basketball team is gaining momentum and setting themselves up for a possible NCAA tournament bid.

Ever since their week off, the Nittany Lions have looked more like they did earlier this season when they won nine out of 10 games. Recently, Penn State has dominated both Minnesota and Purdue, beating them by a combined 41 points.

In those two contests, the offense has been much more efficient than it had been for quite some time. Penn State shot 58 percent Saturday, including an impressive 15-22 from the three-point arc.

Joe Crispin, who exploded in the first half of the season, found his shooting stroke again. He went 5-6 from the field and 4-4 from behind the three-point line against the Boilermakers.

But where the biggest effects of the off-week are being seen is on the defensive side of the ball. That is the area Lions coach Jerry Dunn said his team was focused on.

"Defense is probably more important than anything else," Dunn said before the Minnesota game. "We have to do a good job both on the perimeter and on our interior defense. We are trying to work on some things that basically are going back to the fundamentals."

So far, so good.

Against the Gophers, Penn State shut down the perimeter shot, forcing them to shoot 36.5 percent from the field and 33 percent from behind the arc. On the interior, Penn State turned away 10 shots, led by junior Tyler Smith's four blocks.

Purdue fared a little better, but still could only manage 33 percent in the first half when the Lions pulled away for good. Penn State also forced 18 turnovers in the game.

"Where it all starts is on the defensive end," Dunn said. "Both games we started pretty well defensively and set the tone, so to speak."

Dunn added that his team might be playing its best basketball all season. Perhaps that is because the legs are fresh once again. And just as important, the minds are fresh as well.

"Its nice to get away from basketball for a little bit," Lions senior Titus Ivory said last week. "You know, I watched some basketball, but for the most part I tried to get away from it and just relax."

Besides the week off, the Lions have tried to preserve their energy by occasionally limiting practices.

"As much as possible, we try to cut practices short and we try to get a day off here and there," Dunn said.

And it doesn't hurt that the starters are not seeing much time in the final five or 10 minutes due to blowouts.

All this preserved energy is leading to improved play, which is translating into more confidence for a team that will be facing difficult tests in the final four games.

It's also doing one other thing — adding on to an already solid resume for the NCAA tournament.