Their best athlete is injured. They're coming off their closest win of the year. They're about to head into the home gym of the No. 2 team in the country. But for the Nittany Lions, there is little concern.

The No. 8 Penn State men's gymnastics team (5-0, 1-0 in Big Ten) found out last Thursday in practice that star gymnast freshman Casey Sandy, broke his arm and followed it up last weekend by upsetting No. 4 Stanford in the Bryce Jordan Center.

At 7 p.m. tomorrow, the Lions will be travelling to face No. 2 Ohio State, at historic St. John Arena against a Buckeye squad that is 5-0 in the Big Ten and 8-1 overall.

The Lions have only faced one Big Ten team so far -- a close win over Michigan.

Penn State men's gymnastics coach Randy Jepson is not concerned with the fact that his team is facing a Big Ten counterpart, he just sees it as any regular meet that would be on the schedule.

But he feels his team sees it a different way.

"Anytime you face a Big Ten team there is a conference rivalry which is really a lot of fun for the guys," Jepson said. "They know a lot of the guys on the other teams, they're good friends and have competed through the years and now they are taken it to another level."

Last weekend the Lions won by a .05 margin in a close win against Stanford without Sandy.

Stepping up in his place was sophomore Derek Helsby, who garnered Big Ten men's gymnast of the week honors for his effort.

But Jepson, with a full week of practice under his belt without Sandy, said he has made minimal changes in practice and is viewing things as if nothing has changed.

"We just do the same things we've been doing all along," Jepson said. "The guys know they have to fight and scrap from here on in and in every meet we have to do that anyway. It's business as usual."

The Lions have seemed to enjoy being on the road this season, having only two meets at home this year, with one only being in Rec Hall.

Some of the gymnasts, such as junior Matt Cohen, enjoy being on the road.

"I actually love competing away," Cohen said last week before the home meet. "The team is all together, there are no distractions, we stay in the hotel together, we eat together and go to the gym together. It's sort of like you are invading someone else's territory."

The territory the Lions are heading into won't be as friendly as the other ones due to the Buckeyes being the top-ranked team Penn State has competed against all year.

"It'll be good to be on the road again," Jepson said. "It's another chance to get the guys tested in a hostile environment."

The No. 2 ranking for Ohio State is Penn State's toughest all year before heading into the Big Ten Championships next month.

But as usual, Jepson is not concerned with any of these factors and continues to do things to prepare like he would for any meet.

"We're ready for the challenges of this season," Jepson said. "We prepare for this time of year."