The Penn State men's basketball team has two choices.

The Nittany Lions (16-8, 6-7 Big Ten) can either rebound from their loss to Northwestern Wednesday or tuck their tails andrun. At 7 p.m. tomorrow, the Lions will show the sold out crowd at The Bryce Jordan Center which choice they have made.

No. 5 Michigan State comes into the nationally-televised ESPN game riding a three-game winning streak and preparing for a run at defending its national championship.

The first time Penn State and the Spartans met was Jan. 3, when Michigan State clobbered the Lions in the second half, emerging with a 98-73 victory.

Penn State was leading by 11 points at halftime, butcouldn't hold onto the lead, finally succumbing to the Spartans, who scored 61 second half points.

"We've got a quick turnaround now," Michigan State men's basketball coach Tom Izzo said. "This is going to be a tough weekfor our ball club."

The Spartans beat Indiana on Tuesday by nine points, avenging their loss to the Hoosiers earlier in the season, when Michigan State was upset on Jan. 7. The team will have three days off playing before their contest with the Lions in Happy Valley.

Penn State has to rebound quickly because Northwestern — a team that had only one previous win in the conference — beat the Nittany Lions Wednesday night in Evanston, Ill. The Lions allowed Northwestern forward Tavaras Hardy to score 23 points, which was huge for the Wildcats in the upset.

Penn State men's basketball coach Jerry Dunn said he was displeased with the defense of his inside players against the Wildcats. With the Spartans boasting two talented big men in 6-foot-8 forward Andre Hutson and 6-foot-9 freshman center Zach

Randolph, the Lions have to regroup in the paint to have a chance to come out victorious.

Hutson scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the teams' first matchup at Michigan State.

"We shot 30 percent from 3-point range and 37 percent for the game, and you can't win doing that," Dunn said after the Northwestern loss. "Our interior defense was very, very soft. I thought Northwestern played like men."

Penn State guard Titus Ivory said the trip home was a quiet one Wednesday, but the team is excited about the opportunity of playing Michigan State on its home floor tomorrow night. The 6-foot-4 senior added that a loud, sold out crowd will make for a great atmosphere for the Lions.