Joe Krabbenhoft's toughness, tenacity and ability as a rebounder have never been questioned in his two-plus seasons as a member of the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team.

Thus, there's no questioning the 6-foot-7 junior swingman's assessment that Penn State's Geary Claxton is as big of a beast on the boards as there is in the Big Ten Conference.

"Geary Claxton, I've played against him ever since I came here and he's as good of a player that I've guarded and tried to box out," Krabbenhoft said of the Nittany Lions' 6-foot-5 senior forward, who ranks second among league players in rebounding (8.9 per game) going into Tuesday night's game against the 17th-ranked Badgers at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa.

And Claxton isn't the only Nittany Lion with a prowess for pulling down rebounds.

Junior forward Jamelle Cornley ranks 10th in the Big Ten (6.5) for a Penn State team that pulls down an average of 40.2 rebounds per game, including a Big Ten-best 15.7 per game on the offensive glass.

"(UW coach Bo Ryan) said today that (Claxton and the 6-5, 240-pound Cornley) and some others on that team cover up areas on the floor better than anybody in the Big Ten," said Krabbenhoft, who averages 6.1 rebounds per game. "So we're going to have to get a body on them. They know how to get the ball off the rim, so that's going to be very important."

Rebounding is a relevant topic for UW (13-2 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) coming off Thursday's victory over Illinois, a game in which the Fighting Illini grabbed 13 offensive rebounds on their way to a 35-25 overall advantage, marking just the second time the Badgers — who rank first among Big Ten teams in rebounding defense — have been outrebounded this season.

"We have to rebound to be successful. That's just the way it is," said UW senior forward/center Brian Butch, who averages a team-best 7.7 rebounds per game. "(The Nittany Lions) bring four guys to the boards every single time and they're all athletic and bouncy."

Illinois found that out firsthand on Jan. 6, when Penn State (10-5, 2-1) posted a 49-24 rebounding advantage — a total that included 22 offensive rebounds — en route to a 68-64 victory at Assembly Hall.

"They're just relentless," UW assistant coach Gary Close said of Penn State, which has outrebounded its last eight opponents by an average of 11.7 per game despite starting one player taller than 6-5.

"And rebounding is not all about size, rebounding is positioning and toughness and things like that. What they might lack in size, they make up in toughness and length and strength."

Those characteristics also relate to the rest of Claxton's game.

In addition to his work on the boards, Claxton ranks second in the Big Ten in scoring at 18.7 points per game and has registered four straight double-doubles, giving him 26 for his career.

"I think he's one of the best players in this league — one of the two or three best players in this league," Close said of Claxton, a preseason first-team, All-Big Ten pick who has scored 20 or more points eight times this season.

"He can score in a lot of ways. He's improved his outside shooting now to the point now where you've got to guard him out to (3-point range). He's always been able to put it on the floor, he posts up, he rebounds. He's just a complete player."

While Claxton and Cornley (12 ppg) remain Penn State's main contributors, increased production by deeper supporting cast — the Nittany Lions have 10 players, including four freshmen, averaging at least 13 minutes per game — has played a big part in an increased level of success this season.

Penn State is one victory away from matching last season's total of 11, and its recent seven-game winning streak — which ended with Saturday's loss to Minnesota at home — was the program's longest since the 2000-01 season.

"I've tried to emphasize over the last few years that you needed to have eight, nine, 10 guys to be able stick in the game in this league, or any league, to win," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "And I think we have more pieces that we can put into the game now."