Prior to Saturday, he'd done a nice job of tucking away the emotions and shedding as much light as possible on a team that has snagged just one conference win.

But it was only a matter of time -- or losses -- until the frustration, disappointment and impatience started to seep through the usually upbeat and well-composed Ed DeChellis.

And for the Penn State men's basketball coach, the most recent loss might have been his breaking point. After his team turned in another superbly subpar performance in a 78-56 beating from Iowa, DeChellis addressed the media just as he did after the 19 previous losses. But this postgame press conference was different. Even DeChellis was questioning himself and his underachieving team.

"You can only preach and preach and preach about what we have to win games ... and sometimes guys have to step up and be able to do it," DeChellis said. "We haven't gotten that done, and that's my responsibility."

It's obvious Penn State's 7-20 season has taken its toll on DeChellis. On Saturday, his expressions suggested that he's drained from trying to figure out how his Nittany Lions have gotten themselves into this mess. It seems he's even more frustrated by trying to figure out if and how the Lions can wiggle their way out of this slump before the season's end.

"Guys are mentally and physically tired," he said. "We don't have any bounce and that's not gonna change."

DeChellis' tone of voice has mellowed. But not from screaming, because he doesn't find that yelling produces results from his young squad. Penn State's confidence is understandably fragile right now and should be treated delicately.

"I'm not one that jumps on guys during games," DeChellis said. "Each team's personality is different and sometimes I've done other things to this team and they haven't responded to being jumped on. When you seem to jump on them, they seem to go deeper."

Most hopes for this season taking a turn for the better are gone, with just two regular season games remaining. And the worst part of it all, as DeChellis admitted, is that he doesn't have the answers. He can't put his finger on exactly why the Lions' first-half play was "horrendous." He doesn't know why Penn State couldn't execute "things we talked about."

What DeChellis said he does know, though, is that he didn't do a good job of preparing the Lions. But that might just be a coach trying to lessen the burden on his players.

After studying tape prior to the game, DeChellis identified the strength of Iowa's transition game and emphasized the importance of how to defend it. The Hawkeyes scored 22 fast-break points anyway. For two days, the Lions focused on defending Iowa guards Adam Haluska and Jeff Horner and on forcing them to drive to the basket, rather than allowing them to shoot jumpers. Regardless, Haluska and Horner scored 22 and 19 points, respectively, and shot a combined 17-of-29 from the field.

"I think part of it is frustration and you can't get to the spots you want to get to," DeChellis said. "The other reasons, I really don't have any reasons [as to why we're not accomplishing our goals]."

All season long, players have expressed their disappointment with not carrying the intensity from practice into the games. But practicing with a nine-man roster and using assistant coaches to fill out a five-on-five scrimmage doesn't quite compare to a Big Ten contest. The assistant coaches and the reserves do not exactly imitate No. 1 Illinois' fab five, for example.

"In practice, we guard one another at times and we don't realize that the guys are pretty fast and you can't stand there and watch," DeChellis said. "It is a whole different level of speed in practice compared to what we come out here and see."

Just like every other weekend, the Lions had Sunday off and got back to work yesterday. They'll go through the routine of preparing for their next opponent, Minnesota. They'll search for that energy and emotion needed to even compete with a Big Ten team. And maybe, just maybe, Penn State can provide some answers against the Golden Gophers at the Bryce Jordan Center.