It all comes down to this.

Penn State men's gymnastics coach Randy Jepson has said it time after time.

The NCAA Championships are what really matters.

Today at 1 p.m. at St. Johns Arena in Columbus, Ohio, the Nittany Lions defend their NCAA title. They will be joined in the first session by No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Illinois, No. 5 California, No. 10 Massachusetts and No. 11 Temple.

They must finish in the top three to advance to Friday's team championship.

The good news it that the No. 8 Nittany Lions have already bested the Owls and the Minutemen. They also avoid facing some of the better Big Ten competitors in the initial round, with the Illini the only other conference team to join them.

The bad news is that Oklahoma and California are probably the only two schools in the country capable of beating the top Big Ten teams.

"They are as good as they come," Jepson said. "Both Oklahoma and California are teams that we have to be worried about, besides the Big Ten."

Ohio State is considered by many to be the top team in the country. Ohio State's Jamie Natalie and Raj Bhavsar are first and second in the all-around rankings.

The Lions, boosted by the home crowd, finished a surprising third at the Big Ten Championships on March 23, behind the second-ranked Buckeyes and No. 3 Michigan. The Lions have registered their best scores in their last two meets.

"It seems that we are peaking at the right time," Chris Lakeman said after the Big Ten Championships. "This has been the goal since the beginning."

Last year's Penn State gymnasts finished sixth at Big Tens and went on to shock the country at NCAAs, edging out Michigan.

But the regular season was a trial for the Lions. A pre-season injury cost Adam Benas his senior season. Team captain Dom Brindle battled sickness and injury. Top all-arounder Jose Palacios suffered a plethora of injuries and has yet to reach top form.

And when sophomore Kevin Donohue stepped up to fill the void, he suffered an injury.

Several of the other Lions are competing despite nagging pains.

All of that aside, the Lions are ready to give their best effort.

"It's part of gymnastics," Jepson said of the injuries. "If you want something bad enough, you find a way to get it."

Lakeman is ranked first in the country on the rings and is one of the favorites to capture the event championship on the apparatus. Rob Saliski was All-American on vault last year and Ted Johnson earned All-American honors on the floor.

Individuals need to finish in the top three on an event during their session to advance to Saturday's event finals.