Consistency.

The most important aspect of a winning college basketball team and something the Penn State men's basketball team has yet to find.

The lack of consistency is mostly because of the youth of these Nittany Lions (7-12, 1-5 Big Ten), who have three freshman, two juniors and a sophomore playing quality minutes.

"We have to rely on [freshmen]," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "The seniors are trying to show leadership and their time has been limited, so we have two juniors, a sophomore and four freshmen. ...[The freshmen class] is your biggest clout, so that's why you see teams that win championships are filled with juniors and seniors."

Enter the senior-laden squad of the No. 18 Wisconsin Badgers (13-4, 4-2).

The Badgers are coming off a tough loss to undefeated No. 1 Illinois at home, which broke the Badgers 38-game home-winning streak.

Wisconsin is a very well coached team, especially on the defensive end. The Badgers allow the fewest points per game in the Big Ten, giving up 60 per game.

Wisconsin is also very strong on the boards; they lead the conference in defensive rebounds, so there aren't many second shots available for opponents.

"They are kind of funny defensively," DeChellis said. "They are not a pressure team. They will not pick you up full court, and they'll let you pass it wherever you want in the half court.

"What they are good at is positioning. They're good at being in the gaps and don't allow drive to the basket ... they don't allow a lot of penetration. They are kind of a throwback team."

This game will also be a throwback for former Penn State player Sharif Chambliss. Chambliss is making his return to the Bryce Jordan Center for the first time since the 2002 season, before he transferred to Wisconsin. He is one of four seniors starting for the third-place Badgers and has played well after sitting out a year because of NCAA transfer rules. His specialty is the 3-point shot, as he leads the Badgers in made 3's (35) and is third in shooting percentage (42 percent).

Chambliss and the rest of the long-distance shooters for Wisconsin present a big problem for a Penn State defense that has been unable to defend the perimeter -- here goes that word again -- consistently. The Lions are eighth in the conference, allowing opponents to shoot 37 percent from behind the arc.

"Besides shooting 3's, they also like to post up so you have to decide do you want them to post up or shoot 3's or maybe a little bit of both," DeChellis said. "They are a very good shooting team, so we have to play really well defensively -- try to mix defenses and I don't think you can give them a steady diet."

Even with their troubles, the freshmen have been rapidly improving on the defensive end. But they are still trying to adjust to the speed of the Big Ten, or at least some of them are.

"The way Geary [Claxton]'s playing, he seems to be having no problems," Penn State freshman guard Danny Morrissey said with a smirk. "Talking to Mike [Walker] it is definitely the speed. Trying to get our shot off has been real difficult and also the physical play."

Consistency. Only an 11-letter word but it is the difference between NCAA tournament and the NIT. The Lions need some if they want to play past spring break.