Penn State closed the regular season Saturday night, dropping a close one to Minnesota 5-3. Prior to that, the Lions had been on a 7-game win streak, and saw themselves catapulted up the rankings.
That streak means that the Lions have greatly improved their chances of making the NCAA tournament, but first, the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament loom, with the Lions landing the 5-seed.
The quarterfinal opponent will be the 4-seed Michigan Wolverines, against whom the Lions are just 1-3 this season. Following back-to-back losses to the Wolverines at home in late November, Penn State split the more recent series at Ann Arbor in late January/early February.