When the Penn State men's basketball team hits the road to take on Northwestern tomorrow, both teams will battle for the opportunity to ascend from the ranks of the Big Ten basement.

The game, a 2:30 tip tomorrow afternoon at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill., is a matchup between conference bottom feeders. The Wildcats currently sit at 1-9 in the league, while the Nittany Lions sport a 1-8 conference mark.

Northwestern's descent to the doldrums of the Big Ten was expected. The Wildcats were picked before the season by the conference's coaches to finish last in the league.

The Lions, however, have remained an enigma since Big Ten play began.

"Penn State has been surprising, to tell you the truth," Northwestern head coach Bill Carmody said. "I can't pinpoint why they're not winning because I thought all along that they were a team that wasn't going to beat themselves, and you'd have to beat them. But conference play is tough. But they're very capable of getting better, and I think the guards have to probably contribute a little more."

Penn State has not tasted victory since its last meeting with the Wildcats. But, that 83-57 Lion victory in the friendly confines of the Bryce Jordan Center was more than a month ago. Penn State's current eight-game losing streak has encompassed 37 frustration-filled days.

In order to combat the frustration, Penn State coach Ed DeChellis and his squad is searching for confidence builders wherever they can find them.

"I thought we really competed," DeChellis said. "One of the most important things is believing you can win and we left the locker room believing that we could win the game. The kids came out with energy, the kids played hard, the kids showed emotion.

"We battled, I mean, [Wisconsin is] what, a top-five team in the country? That's what I'm telling the guys today, what's the separation? I mean, they're a top-five team in the country, and we've only won one game in the league, where's the separation? Is it a couple shots? What is it?"

DeChellis added that the Lions have had some recent success against Northwestern and this is a prime opportunity for his team to, as he said, "get a good taste in their mouths."

After Wednesday's narrow loss to the Badgers, Penn State is itching even more for a win. But sophomore forward Jamelle Cornley said the team must remain focused and not get overconfident just because it played a quality-opponent close.

"Ultimately you lose and a loss is a loss. It's good that we were there, but at the same time we need to find our own self-confidence," Cornley said. "You look at the records, we're 1-8 and they're 1-9, so it's the battle of the bottoms so far, that's what I call it.

"So, we can't go down to them. I mean, they're our only win in the league and if you think about it, they probably want to beat us because we beat them earlier in the first game in the conference. We got to go about this like it's another game and go ahead and take care of business."