March 1, 2001.

Freshman Jamaal Tate hit two clutch free throws in the closing moments to lead the Penn State men's basketball team to a 78-73 victory against the host Iowa Hawkeyes. The Nittany Lions ended the season ranked 25th and advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.

How the times have changed.

Tate is now a senior, an inactive player and mentor for the team. Penn State is nowhere the top 25. Almost four years later, the Lions (7-11, 1-4 Big Ten) are still looking for their first Big Ten win on the road since that night in Iowa.

Their next chance to break the 26-game conference road losing streak takes place at 8 p.m. today, when the Lions take on the Ohio State Buckeyes (12-7, 1-4) in Columbus, Ohio.

The Lions are hoping to build some momentum and stay on the winning side after getting their first conference win of the season Saturday against Northwestern (8-9, 1-4).

"It was very, very critical for us in terms of confidence-wise to get a win [Saturday], and hopefully we can build off of it," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said.

Junior forward Aaron Johnson is glad the team can stop worrying about getting its first conference win of the season.

"People [would] keep saying, 'You're so close, you're so close,' but now finally we did it," Johnson said. "Now we know how it feels, we're just going to keep trying to repeat this feeling because I don't want to lose games. I'm sick of it."

The Buckeyes have an impressive 10-1 record at home this year, but that statistic might be a bit misleading. Most of those wins have come against lesser competition, the only notable exception being a victory against No. 23 Iowa (14-4, 2-3) on Jan. 8.

Johnson said the team isn't worried about the Buckeyes' record in Columbus.

"We're just worrying about us playing together as a team and playing like we did [last weekend]," Johnson said. "If we do that, it doesn't matter what their record is at home as long as we come to play."

Ohio State is led by junior forward Terence Dials, who is averaging 16 points per game and is second in the conference in rebounding -- the top spot is held by Johnson. Guards Tony Stockman and J.J. Sullinger form an impressive backcourt duo, helping the Buckeyes shoot 48 percent from the field.

"They shoot the ball well from the perimeter," DeChellis said. "Obviously Dials has been a load to handle, he's been very, very solid. ... They've lost some close games, a couple of overtime games, they've lost four in a row, five of their last six. So I'm sure that when they look at their schedule when they're in team meetings [yesterday], this is one they have to have."

Penn State's last major non-conference victory away from the Bryce Jordan Center came against Rutgers (7-9) on Dec. 1. The Scarlet Knights came painfully close to upsetting No. 4 Syracuse (20-1) Monday before falling in the final minutes, 86-84.

Johnson is hoping that a win tonight could act as a springboard for the Lions as they head into a tough stretch of Big Ten play.

"It [would be] huge," he said of a road victory, "but after it happens, hopefully [today], we're going to act like it's normal. Once we get the feeling that it's not such a big win ... then that's when we know we've come as a team -- just more like having fun and taking care of business."