He's said it before and he said it again.

During yesterday's weekly Big Ten teleconference, Penn State men's basketball head coach Ed DeChellis mentioned what his team is planning to work on during the upcoming bye week.

But, everything he said has been mentioned before as possible solutions to problems currently plaguing the Nittany Lions.

DeChellis is perplexed by his team's current six-game slide and is searching for something, anything to hang his hat on.

"I don't have an answer," he said yesterday. "It's been a rough month for us. We just have not played very well defensively. We've got the week off, and hopefully we can get back to basics."

But, during the same teleconference one week ago, his remedy sounded oddly similar.

"I think it goes back to you have got to work hard," DeChellis said during the Jan. 22 teleconference. "There's no magic bullet, we have just got to get back to fundamental things."

The fundamentals DeChellis were referring to included defense and taking advantage of rebounds.

The zone defense that perplexed Big Ten foes last season just does not seem to have the same impact this year, but has it been poor defense or better offense?

"I thought their zone was effective," Minnesota coach Jim Molinari said yesterday. "But, it was just more of people stepping up and playing more aggressive offensively for us. I think Penn State competes at a high level and I think every one of their games comes down to the last few possessions, and we just hit some shots."

The intensity of the Lions' defense has gone down greatly since last season.

Their numbers are down significantly from the 2005-2006 campaign. Penn State is surrendering 3 1/2 more points per contest than last year.

Opponents are also shooting 2 percent better from the field and 6 percent better from three-point range against the Lions than they were last season.

"The zone hasn't been as effective," DeChellis said. "I say that because people have shot so well. We've played some man and that hasn't worked well either. We thought we had some things worked out, but obviously we don't. The zone or man, neither defense has been very good for us and we have not defended the way we need to in this league."

Against Minnesota, often-overlooked role players stepped up with career games to help beat Penn State. But, during much of the Big Ten season, the Lions have had trouble stopping their opponents' top scoring threats.

"We haven't found the guy that's been the mainstay on the other team," DeChellis said. "We just have not found the other team's leading scorer but maybe it's hard to limit some of these guys."

Purdue's Carl Landry and David Teague, two of the Big Ten's top-five scorers, combined for 44 points in their win over the Lions.

Next came Indiana's Roderick Wilmont who drained seven three's enroute to a 25-point night at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Finally, the league's top-two scorers, Michigan State's Drew Neitzel and Iowa's Adam Haluska, lit-up the Lions during consecutive games, both Penn State losses. The two scoring fiends combined for 52 points against the much-maligned Penn State defense.

DeChellis may have found the problem. The Lions have allowed the stars to score. But correcting the problem has not been easy.

The Lions have, however, been able to solve their early-season rebounding problem. Penn State was out rebounded during three of its first five Big Ten games.

But now, Ed DeChellis's squad has regained its normal advantage on the glass. But, the Lions have just not been able to capitalize on their work under the boards.

Against Minnesota, the Lions grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, but were only able to cash them into 12 points.

The numbers were even more mind boggling when Penn State traveled to Iowa. Although the Lions held a 27-15 advantage in offensive rebounds, the Hawkeyes still outscored the Lions in second-chance points.

So, DeChellis identified a problem and corrected it. But immediately, another problem reared its head.

It's been a difficult beginning to conference play for DeChellis and his squad. The team has not lived up to preseason expectations. But, the Lions are desperately trying to shake themselves of their current funk and steal a win on Saturday against Purdue.

But in order to beat the Boilermakers, Penn State needs to fix its problems. And considering we've heard the same answers for the past few weeks, the troubles may continue until the Lions can grasp the DeChellis teachings.

"When you lose five in a row, the next game is always the most important," DeChellis said. "We have to try to go back to basics and fundamentals. Right now, I'm not concerned with other teams, I'm just concerned with our team and what we need to do to get better this week."