If Penn?State wins tonight, Ed DeChellis gets a third shot at Michigan?State Friday.

UNIVERSITY?PARK — Penn State’s big men are playing better, while Talor Battle is finishing another fine season and finally getting more scoring help from teammates. The Nittany Lions (11-19, 3-15 Big Ten) have improved of late, but an 0-12 start in league play was too big a hurdle for the team to overcome to get out of last place. So hopes have sprung anew in Happy Valley with the Big Ten tournament starting today in Indianapolis, where coach Ed DeChellis’ crew hopes they can pull off a few upsets as the 11th and last seed. ‘‘It’s a brand new season, a four-game season,’’ Battle said. ‘‘If we go out there, regardless of what our record is, we win these four games, we’re automatically in the [NCAA] tournament.’’ And that’s the only way Penn State can get into the NCAAs, a rather pie-in-the-sky goal for a team with 19 losses. At the least though, the Nittany Lions can wreak havoc on higher-seeded teams either looking to improve NCAA seeding or their postseason credentials.