Penn State men’s basketball climbed all the way into the top 10 in this week’s edition of the AP Top 25 poll after another couple of big wins.

The Nittany Lions are one of the hottest teams in the country of late, as they’ve won eight consecutive games and haven’t dropped a contest since January 15. This past week, Pat Chambers’ squad took down Purdue thanks to converting on 14 three-point attempts, and made easy work of Northwestern at the BJC on Saturday.

Penn State hasn’t made an appearance in the top 10 of the AP poll since it was ranked No. 9 during the 1995-1996 season. The Nittany Lions are currently the second-highest ranked Big Ten team in the poll, among No. 7 Maryland, No. 20 Iowa, and No. 25 Ohio State. Baylor still sits at No. 1 in the poll with a 23-1 overall record, while Gonzaga trails at No. 2 at 26-1 overall.

Lamar Stevens and co. currently sit at second place in the conference behind the Terrapins. They hold a 10-4 record in Big Ten play, just one game behind Maryland’s 11-3 record. Stevens is making a strong case for the Big Ten Player of the Year award, as he added 16 and 23 points in the Nittany Lions’ last two wins, respectively.

The Nittany Lions will have a couple of tough conference tests this week, as they welcome Illinois to the BJC at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 18. You can catch that game on FS1. After that, Chambers’ team will travel to Bloomington to take on Indiana at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Sunday, February 23.