More than two weeks ago, Penn State seniors Gyasi Cline-Heard and Joe Crispin offered up a bold prediction — the Nittany Lions men's basketball team was going to make the NCAA Tournament.

It was difficult to place total faith in it, especially after Penn State just lost its second straight contest to drop two games below .500 in the Big Ten.

However, five games and a Big Ten Tournament semifinal appearance later, Cline-Heard and Crispin were proven correct. Sunday night, the Lions found out they were heading back to the Big Dance for the first time since 1996.

"I wasn't nervous at all, I knew we were in the tournament," Crispin said Sunday. "I don't know if it would have been as satisfying if we didn't have to work as hard as we did."

Fittingly, it was Cline-Heard and Crispin who hit the biggest shots in the Lions' final two wins that essentially clinched the tournament birth. Cline-Heard got his opportunity first when his last second put-back gave Penn State the 82-80 victory against Michigan one week ago.

The very next night, Crispin had a little magic of his own. Splitting two defenders and seemingly getting bumped, he let an off-balance three-pointer go and made it. The shot propelled the Lions into the semifinals. Crispin called it probably the biggest basket of his career.

Both of their performances in those two games were just an exclamation point on their senior seasons, though. Down the stretch, there was perhaps no player more valuable to Penn State than Cline-Heard.

Averaging 15.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per contest for the entire season, Cline-Heard stepped up his play the last 12 games recording 18.6 points and 9.9 rebounds a game.

He set his career high in points twice in the Big Ten Tournament, posting 24 against Michigan and then topping that with 26 against Iowa two nights later.

"Gyasi Cline-Heard has been a huge part of the success of this year's team," Penn State head coach Jerry Dunn said. "He's probably been one of our most consistent players all season."

Crispin didn't do too bad himself, averaging 20 points a game this season to lead the conference. After a slow start against the Spartans, he put up 19 points in the second half to finish with 22.

He not only hit the three-pointer that nearly sealed the victory, but also calmly knocked down four free throws in the final 1:16 of play.

Cline-Heard and Crispin didn't offer any other predictions in Sunday's press conference. But they did say they would do their best to take full advantage of their free ride to New Orleans.

"We're happy to be in the tournament and we want enjoy it while were there," Cline-Heard said. "We have no intentions of going home early, so were going to the best we can to be around for awhile."