It was a quiet week for Penn State basketball, with only one game since the last release of the polls, but after taking care of business with Central Connecticut State, the Lions have moved up three spots to No. 20 within the AP Poll.
Though they didn't cover the huge spread, Penn State had little trouble dispatching an outmatched Central Connecticut State squad, and Pat Chambers' team cruised to an 87-58 win to maneuver to 10-2 on the season.
Next up for the Lions is Cornell on Sunday, December 29 before a ranked matchup (!!!!!!!) with the No. 25 Iowa Hawkeyes at the Palestra in Philadelphia on Saturday, January 4. it'll be the primary time that Penn State has been involved during a ranked matchup since January 21, 1996, when the No. 14 Nittany Lions took on the No. 20 Michigan Wolverines (Michigan won the game). it'll even be the primary ranked matchup between Penn State and Iowa since February 3 of an equivalent year, a contest that the Lions won by a final of 95-87.
The poll was filled with Big Ten teams as was common, with Ohio State at No. 2, Michigan at No. 11, Maryland at No. 13, Michigan State at No. 14, along side Penn State and Iowa.