Rebounding and defense are two staples of good basketball teams.

No. 5 Pittsburgh (4-0) has been successful for the past few seasons under coach Ben Howland in both areas. The Penn State men's basketball team has been the complete opposite.

The Nittany Lions (0-4), who are looking for their first win of the season, will host their intrastate rival tomorrow at 1 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center.

The Panthers have out-rebounded their opponents in the first four games by an average of nearly 16, and out-scored them by 31 points.

The Lions have been dominated on the glass, on average by 11 rebounds. Penn State men's basketball coach Jerry Dunn said that his team battled on the boards for the first half against Clemson before fading in the second half, and were out-rebounded by nine.

"Pittsburgh has some really strong players," sophomore center Jan Jagla said. "We need to work even harder rebounding against them. We need to go after the ball with more intensity and box out harder to keep the big bodies off the boards."

In the first three full seasons under Howland, Pittsburgh's defense has improved every season, and has reached a team-best in the first four games. Three years ago the Panthers' defense gave up 67 points per game. That number has since dropped to 53.2 points per game. Their opponents have shot slightly under 35 percent from the field and turned the ball over about 20 times a game. As good as the defense has been, the Panthers' offense has been just as strong. Senior point guard Brandin Knight leads the offense. Dunn said that he sees similarities between Knight and Clemson's Edward Scott, who scorched the Lions on Tuesday for 25 points and had seven assists.

"NBA scouts will be watching him," Dunn said. "They are similar both make big plays and step up and make the big shots. They get involved both on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor."

Dunn made some wholesale changes to this lineup for the first time in his eight years at Penn State. Dunn benched four starters, including the veteran backcourt of Brandon Watkins and Sharif Chambliss. Dunn said that Ndu Egekeze remained in the lineup because he battled on both ends of the court and gave the necessary effort. The lineup that started on Tuesday against the Tigers possibly will change against Pittsburgh.

"Coach sent us a message that he wanted us to play harder," said Jagla, who was one of the four benched starters. "What we did last year does not matter now, and that we need to work hard everyday."