It's funny how a single 8-foot tall high bar can change things.

The No. 2 Penn State men's gymnastics team will try to rebound from its last meet, when it lost in the final event -- the high bar -- when it faces No. 5 Illinois at 7:05 p.m. tomorrow in Rec Hall. It will be Penn State's second consecutive meet against a Big Ten school and a top-5 squad.

If it wasn't for that inch-thick steel rod, the Nittany Lions could've been the No. 1 team in the country. The Lions had Michigan on the ropes and behind most of the night, but couldn't hang on because of poor performances on the high bar.

In that case, it was no surprise that during practice this week, while some of the individuals were working on other events, almost the whole team had congregated around the high bar. One refined his routine, while the rest watched studiously on their collective Achilles' heel.

Head coach Randy Jepson said the team has shown noticeable improvement in the high bar, but the team still has room to improve. He also said that there are two factors as to why the team hasn't been able perform in the event.

"First, it's consistency," Jepson said. "We haven't been able to perform the routines consistently. Secondly, it's execution. We have some flaws that need to be straightened out."

It will be a contest between two evenly matched squads. Penn State's (10-1) best event is the rings, where it is ranked first in the nation, while Illinois is ranked seventh. Illinois' (4-3) best event is the floor exercise. The Illini are ranked third in the event, while the Lions are ranked fourth.

The meet, which is the first in two weeks for Penn State, also features a showdown of nationally ranked gymnasts. Eight gymnasts who competed in the Winter Challenge last weekend also will be competing this weekend, including Penn State senior Matt Cohen and Illinois junior Wesley Haagenson.

The meet will also feature three of the top-5 all-around gymnasts in the country. Lions' sophomore Casey Sandy is ranked No. 2, Haagenson is No. 4, and Cohen is No. 5.

"They have one of the best all-around guys in Wesley Haagenson," Jepson said. "They also have a lot of good individual guys like Tyler Yamauchi and Chris Silcox."

One thing Jepson wants to guard against coming into this week is what could be described as the mid-season blues.

He talked about how at this point, the "shine of the season had worn off" and guys were becoming more vulnerable to common malaise, or "aches and pains." He also said the middle of the season played a big part in why neither Michigan nor Penn State was able to stick a lot of their landings two weeks ago.