It’s hard to imagine that many Penn State fans thought they’d be rooting for a ranked men’s basketball team in the year 2020, but here the Nittany Lions are, bound for March Madness.

Pat Chambers’ squad climbed to No. 22 in the AP Top 25 on Monday after making fairly easy work of Indiana and Nebraska this past week. The Nittany Lions are currently on a four-game winning streak, boast a 16-5 record overall, and a 6-4 record in Big Ten play.

Despite a few bumps in the road, this has clearly been a dream season for the Nittany Lions so far. Through it all, the team has managed to play with a loose, generally fun vibe that has no doubt helped them stay hot over the course of this campaign. While there have been plenty of highlights this season, it’s hard to pick out another moment where Penn State has had as much fun as it did during Saturday night’s victory over Nebraska.

After a tight first half in which the Nittany Lions took just a five-point lead into the locker room, they exploded for a dominant final 20 minutes on both ends of the court. Chambers’ squad was playing hard defense, running the floor, and even had several explosive finishes at the rim.

Jamari Wheeler’s alley-oop to Lamar Stevens was the icing on the cake in what was a highlight-filled couple of minutes for Penn State.

.@PennStateMBB is just having fun at this point pic.twitter.com/qgR369WqyP

— Onward State (@OnwardState) February 2, 2020

While it can sometimes be hard to remember over the course of a long, grueling season, Chambers’ always wants his players to have as much fun as possible when they’re out on the court, or rooting each other on from the bench.

“I know what people perceive of me, but before every game I tell [the team] to have fun,” Chambers said. “Because you gotta have fun. If you’re playing under stress, worry, fear, you’re going to find the other result, and that’s not what you want.”

“We worked hard in practice, in film session, we’re learning, we’re getting better. Now go enjoy this moment with this special group of guys,” Chambers added.

The Nittany Lions have been able to play their best brand of basketball when playing loose and staying positive during games, a mindset they will need to carry into the Big Ten Tournament and a possible March Madness run.

As for right now, though, Chambers and his team are focused on a matchup with No. 16 Michigan State on Tuesday night. The Spartans are currently ranked as the top team in the Big Ten, and a victory over them could catapult the Nittany Lions to a much higher AP ranking and place them in the conversation as a top team in the conference.

With this prospect in mind, it’s hard not to start consider the possibility of a Big Ten Championship for this squad. The thought has currently crossed Chambers’ mind, but the head coach knows that a lot can still happen with ten games left on the schedule.

“I wouldn’t be transparent if I didn’t say I’ve thought about it,” Chambers said. “I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but it’s nice to be in this situation. It’s great to be whee we are right now as opposed to where we were in the past. Again, though, I’m not trying to think about the past, I’m trying to stay present.”