With the Big Ten men's basketball season just underway, no one knows who will win the conference championship.

It could be No. 8 Illinois, which is off to a 12-1 start including 2-0 in the Big Ten. Or it might be the No. 17 Indiana Hoosiers, who went to the Final Four last season. It also could be Michigan State, which was the preseason favorite to win the conference. Or it could quite possibly be a complete surprise.

One thing we do know with certainty: It won't be Penn State.

And that's not a knock on the program, the players or the coach. It's just the way it is. The Nittany Lions are a young and inexperienced team in a league full of talented programs.

So where does the 11th member of the Big Ten fit into the conference puzzle? What kind of season can the Lions expect?

And what will the other teams expect to see when they face Penn State?

Even though the Lions are one of the weaker teams in the conference, no one is taking them lightly.

"Like anyone else in the Big Ten, you're going to have to be very focused, very physical against Penn State," Purdue men's basketball coach Gene Keady said.

In just the first two games of their Big Ten season, the Lions showed that they can compete, but not win, with the big boys. Against both Indiana and Michigan on the road, Penn State was able to keep the score close throughout the first half. In both games, however, the home team pulled away in the second half and beat the Lions comfortably.

Penn State men's basketball coach Jerry Dunn thinks that his team's second-half troubles are just matters of putting the ball in the hoop.

"We have to score baskets," Dunn said. "We hit a stretch where we don't score for five to seven minutes or longer, in this game you have to put the ball in the basket."

Home-court advantage, or the lack thereof, is a big part of college basketball, and in the Big Ten in particular. Last season, Big Ten home teams won more often than in any other major conference.

Winning on the road is another issue entirely. Picking up wins, no matter how trivial the opponent, is important for any team's mentality. When the Lions started the season 0-6, confidence was a big issue for them. The five consecutive wins that followed helped to bolster the team's attitude.

"When you win, you get confidence," Dunn said. "I think it is a mindset of toughness and being able to execute in a hostile environment."

Penn State will win a few games here and there this season. The teams the Lions beat and how many wins they get will help determine if the season can be considered a success.

An escape from the Big Ten basement is the first step toward reaching respectability.

"Before it's all said and done, you'll see some of those teams picked close to the bottom rise to more impressive standing," Dunn said. "That's an indication of how balanced the league is."