Folks, it’s happened.

Penn State men’s basketball broke into this week’s AP Top 25 poll at No. 23.

JUST IN: Penn State men's basketball has entered the @AP_Top25 poll at No. 23.

This is the Nittany Lions' first appearance in the Top 25 since 1996! pic.twitter.com/cdl4Z5abeC

— Onward State (@OnwardState) December 16, 2019

This is a historic ranking for the Nittany Lions, as they haven’t found themselves in the AP Top 25 since 1996, when they finished that season at No. 18. Pat Chambers’ squad has received votes for the poll over the last few weeks, but the Nittany Lions’ impressive performances over their last few games finally got them over the hump.

Penn State currently boasts a 9-2 record and has won its last two games, including a 76-69 upset victory over then-No. 4 Maryland. The Nittany Lions struggled at times in their last game against Alabama, but they managed to slide by the Crimson Tide 73-71 at the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday.

The Nittany Lions join four other Big Ten squads ranked in the AP Top 25 poll, including No. 5 Ohio State, No. 7 Maryland, No. 14 Michigan, and No. 15 Michigan State. Chambers’ squad has a 1-1 conference record, as its only Big Ten loss came in an ugly 106-74 loss to Ohio State in Columbus.

Other than the loss to the Buckeyes and a disappointing defeat to Ole Miss at the NIT Season Tip-Off, Penn State has impressive victories over teams such as Georgetown, Syracuse, and Wake Forest, among others.

Penn State will now turn its focus to a game against Central Connecticut State at 6 p.m. Friday at the Bryce Jordan Center. The match up will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network. The Nittany Lions will take on Cornell after that, before exclusively playing in-conference games until the end of the regular season in March.