Penn State men’s basketball increased its national recognition this week.

After receiving three points in last week’s AP Poll, the Nittany Lions received five points in the latest AP Poll, released early Monday afternoon. Penn State received the third-fewest points behind St. Bonaventure, which received two points, and Nebraska, which received one.

The slight bump came after Penn State defeated Penn on Sunday in its last non-conference game of the season. This brought the Nittany Lions to a record of 11-2 to close out the year of 2024.

The Big Ten is represented by five teams in the top 25 with No. 9 Oregon as the highest ranked team. The other teams representing the conference are UCLA, Michigan State, Purdue, and Illinois.

The Nittany Lions will return to Big Ten play against Northwestern at 7 p.m. on Thursday, January 2, at the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will be streamed on Peacock.