Before the semester break began, the Penn State men's basketball team was on a three-game losing streak and lacked the motivation that had carried them to a 3-1 record prior to the skid. The holiday season needed to bring the Nittany Lions good fortune before they headed into the conference schedule.

It took a while for things to start getting better, but eventually the Lions got it together, winning five of six on the break including their last three games.

But before any pleasant change, DeForrest Riley-Smith dropped a bombshell on the team with a request for a release from his scholarship and the news of plans for his transfer to Xavier.

Riley-Smith's departure was untimely for Penn State men's basketball coach Ed DeChellis, who had already watched Brandon Cameron walk away from the program just weeks before. However, before his transfer, Riley-Smith still played a big part in the Lions' action before the new year. A 68-64 win over St. Francis (NY) brought the Lions back to .500 and was a key home victory before the team headed to New Mexico for the Comcast Lobo Invitational.

In Albuquerque, Arkansas State fell to the Lions which were led by Jan Jagla, Ndu Egekeze and Riley-Smith. The win propelled Penn State into the championship game with New Mexico, where the host Lobos thumped the Lions.

That was the last time Riley-Smith played for DeChellis. Happy New Year. But DeChellis must have had some lofty resolutions for his team.

On Jan. 3, with a shallow bench, DeChellis used only six players -- five of whom played more than 30 minutes -- and the Lions beat Bucknell 58-46.

The non-conference games were supposed to be easy wins for the Lions. History shows that they typically fall apart when the conference season begins.

Or at least that was the assumption.

In the Big Ten opener at the Bryce Jordan center, the Lions were pitted against Minnesota, which had won the past five head-to-head meetings. But Jagla was ready to stop that streak.

Jagla notched a career-high 28 points and led the Lions to their first 1-0 Big Ten record since the 1995-96 season.

Then Ohio State came to town. But the Buckeyes should have stayed home.

It was time for a freshman to steal the spotlight. Marlon Smith took the ball in his hands and fired away at the net. To the Buckeyes' dismay, his hot hand registered a game-high 23 points and helped move the Lions' record to 8-5.