Since the first day of March 2001, a dubious fact hung over every Penn State men's basketball conference home game: No matter what day or opponent, if the game followed a Big Ten road match, it followed a loss.

Losing 33 of 33 Big Ten games away from home since that date doesn't trim the Bryce Jordan Center with much cheer. But after Wednesday's 65-61 win at Northwestern, tomorrow's game vs. Iowa holds promise and potential.

If it isn't so much the return of victorious troops, it's at least a building block, or a chance to start a streak. And definitely one satisfying trip home.

"You get on the plane, you can relax, you don't have to think about anything really," junior guard Ben Luber said. "You're just happy. When you lose, you think about everything you did wrong. Then you go to sleep that night and

think about it while you're sleeping, and you get up the next morning and you just don't feel great."

As the Nittany Lions flew home, they weren't singing or dancing like they had just won the Big Ten title. The win was the team's second Big Ten game of the season, with more than a dozen to go.

But they were still talking. Though it doesn't sound like much, that's more than can be said for the trip home after last week's 104-69 loss at Ohio State.

"Last Thursday night I know everybody was mad, upset -- they didn't feel like talking to nobody," senior forward Travis Parker said. "I wouldn't say [this trip] was live, but it was still all right."

Parker said earlier in the week the Lions didn't compete and try to get back in the game when they were down. When talking about Wednesday's game, however, his tune changed to reflect the heart he said the team showed when it was down by 10 in the first period and ultimately, could build on.

"Instead of folding, letting them take that lead to 20 points or whatever, we fought back," Parker said.

The win also changed some attitudes back in State College. Though it may not be the main attraction in the gallery of Penn State sports, or have the same cache as an 11-1 football season, it still turned a few heads.

Brian Rademaker (senior-accounting) hasn't attended a home basketball game since Pittsburgh came into State College on Dec. 7, 2002, and walked out with an 82-60 win. He said he currently follows the team as far as wins and losses, but now, that may change.

"It kinda opened my eyes, even if it was Northwestern," Rademaker said. "It is a road win, but at the same time it's not one of the elite teams in the league."

For every positive that the win brings up, many students voiced a reason not to take the feeling to extremes. If there is a bandwagon, it's still got plenty of room. A majority of the about 12 students interviewed said the team needs to win consistently for there to be a large fan following.

"I don't think this one win will do it. For the majority of people, they're gonna want to see a few more wins," said Jennifer Owsiany, president of the student basketball fan section, The Penn State Nittwits.

Owsiany said she attends every home game unless it's a break and is a self-described Penn State sports nut. When she found out Penn State won Wednesday, she said she was "jumping all around" and excited for the players.

But she is already an established basketball fan, and said she wants people to have football team-level excitement. The turnaround in football fan support was remarkable if only because this year's coach of the year was the subject of last season's "JoePa must go."

"You didn't hear that once this year," Owsiany said. "In past seasons we had fans, but we didn't have Paternoville."

To have students pitching tents across Curtin Road from Beaver Stadium, the Lions would have to pile up more than one win. Dan Blaydon (senior-electrical engineering) said tickets would be in demand and students would show up consistently if the Lions won consistently.

Could this be the jumping off point?

"It's a step in the right direction," Blaydon said. "It's time basketball steps up. Basketball just lags."

Blaydon, who last attended a men's basketball game vs. Mount St. Mary's on Dec. 31, said a packed Bryce Jordan Center is an impressive sight. And if the team that averaged just fewer than 8,000 people in home attendance last season fills out the more than 15,000-person capacity, the process just might have started last night.

"It's gonna be nothing but good things," Matt Jennings (junior-economics) said. "It definitely sparked my interest. Maybe the next Big Ten game, you might see me there."