State College, Pa.: After taking two out of three home contests last week, the No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions will look to close out their regular season strong, with post-season play looming on the horizon.

On Wednesday, October 29, the Wildcats of Villanova (11-5, 4-1 Big East) invade Happy Valley, where the Nittany Lions are 8-1 this season. Villanova will enter the contest riding a six-game winning streak, while posting their 11-5 mark. Penn State will look to extend its 34-game home winning streak over Pennsylvania opposition in the Wednesday night contest.

Following the contest with Villanova, the Nittany Lions will hit the road for their final game of the season, a conference duel with the No. 6 Michigan Wolverines.

Michigan enters this week¡¯s action with a 14-4 mark overall, while co-leading the Big Ten with its 4-1 mark. Atop the conference, Michigan is tied with No. 5 Michigan State and No. 15 Ohio State, all posting the same 4-1 marks. Ohio State will travel to Michigan State to face the Spartans, with at least a share of the regular season conference title hanging in the balance.

No. 7 Penn State, fourth in the Big Ten with its 3-2 conference mark, will look to improve upon its position in time for the Big Ten Conference Tournament. A victory would move Penn State to a tie for second in the conference with Michigan and loser of the Ohio State/Michigan State contest.

Looking Back¡­
The Nittany Lions played three home contests last week, posting a 2-1 record in those games¡­ Penn State began the week with a 2-0 victory over Bucknell on Tuesday, October 21st. Following the contest with the Bison, the Dukes of James Madison came to State College on Friday, October 24th, with the Nittany Lions getting the better end of a 6-2 decision¡­ In a Big Ten Conference showdown the following night, Penn State dropped a tough, 4-2 contest with then No. 6 Michigan State.

Looking Forward¡­
After this week¡¯s two-game slate, the Nittany Lions will gear up to host the 2003 Big Ten Conference Tournament. The Tournament will run from Friday, November 7 through Sunday, November 9, with the following schedule set in place:

 Friday, November 7th #1 Seed - Bye #2 Seed vs. #7 Seed 10:00 a.m. #4 Seed vs. #5 Seed 12:30 p.m. #3 Seed vs. #6 Seed 3:00 p.m. Saturday, November 8th #1 Seed vs. 4/5 Winner 11:00 a.m. 2/7 Winner vs. 3/6 Winner 2:00 p.m. Sunday, November 9th Finals 1:00 p.m For ticket information and application, visit www.GoPSUSports.com. Applications are to be returned to: 240 Bryce Jordan Center University Park, Pa. 16802