This team, and for sure the program, is still trying to prove it belongs in college basketball's elite.

	An ecstatic Scoonie Penn races off the court following Ohio State's win.

They were a Final Four team a year ago. An early-season bust two months ago. But they're the team of the week after upsetting Michigan State on Thursday and stunning St. John's on Saturday in what could be the emotional lift needed to send the Buckeyes on another remarkable run.

"We're still scratching for every single thing we get," Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien said. "There's still going to be a lot of doubters."

Maybe that's why O'Brien raced out to greet his players at Madison Square Garden's midcourt Saturday afternoon after the Buckeyes' improbable 65-64 victory over St. John's. He hopped up and down in a circle with his players, but only after he waved senior point guard Scoonie Penn into the huddle.

Penn and O'Brien have been as good an entertainment team in the Garden as the sports mecca has seen. When they play here, they win.

The last time Penn and O'Brien were in this arena, they won the Big East Conference tournament, leading Boston College to the title over Villanova. It was a sweet redemption for O'Brien, a native New Yorker, who couldn't get St. John's to play the Eagles at the Garden during a regular-season game. Instead, the Eagles were relegated to second-rate status with the Fairfield-types on their schedule that used to only get on the St. John's campus.

Beating St. John's in the South Regional final in Knoxville, Tenn., last March was an added incentive to pay back the Red Storm and the Big East. Taking down the Red Storm on Saturday wasn't the same, but there was some vindication after being down by 10 with less than three minutes to play.

Penn worked his usual magic, setting up Michael Redd for seven of nine points during the comeback, hitting two free throws for the lead with 19 seconds left and blocking Erick Barkley's 3-pointer at the buzzer.

"For 38 minutes, we had no right winning this game," O'Brien said. "For the last two minutes, we had every right. We showed heart and character. These kids refuse to fold up."

Ohio State's renewed sense of purpose really began after a buzzer-beating loss at Illinois on Jan. 6. It was in that postgame locker room that the Buckeyes finally believed they could get back to competing for the Big Ten title and, ultimately, a return trip to the Final Four.

	“	We finally understand we've got the bull's-eye on our back because we were a Final Four team. ”
		— Scoonie Penn

Sure, Jason Singleton was gone from last year's Final Four team, and guard Slobodan Savovic spent the first part of the season hurt, but the core of the Buckeyes were back. Penn and Redd still formed the toughest guard tandem to guard in the Big Ten, Ken Johnson (11 blocks Saturday) a safety net inside and George Reese a newfound source of inside production off the bench.

But, until that Illinois loss, something was missing from the Buckeyes' soul.

"Now we're playing like we did a year ago," Penn said. "In the beginning, we had the hype but we didn't step up. But the Illinois game proved we could play well. That changed our season around."

The Buckeyes haven't lost since. They beat Minnesota at home, won a tight game at Wisconsin, took out Northwestern in Evanston and then stunned Michigan State on Thursday night. Suddenly, they're tied atop the Big Ten and on the verge of being in the top 10.

"We're in a groove now," Penn said. "We're scrappy and still earning everything we can. But we finally understand we've got the bull's-eye on our back because we were a Final Four team."

O'Brien challenged the Buckeyes' toughness prior to the Spartans' game. He celebrated their heart and character in the postgame. But he got on them again at halftime Saturday when they were lifeless against St. John's matchup zone and let Barkley slice through their defense as if they were standing still.

"It would have been very easy if we had lost this game for everyone to say Michigan State was a fluke," O'Brien said.

But Penn wouldn't let this team die. Down 10, he suddenly took over by jump-starting a stagnant offense.

"His personality is infectious," O'Brien said. "When he's around, you always think you've got a chance. He took a 3-pointer that clanked the side of the rim, right in front of our bench. But in the end, we said to him to go make plays."

And it was St. John's, not the Buckeyes, that buckled. The Red Storm, who have had a bizarre week by shocking Connecticut in Storrs but then lost to Seton Hall and now Ohio State, couldn't get off a winning shot. Johnson blocked Anthony Glover's first attempt. Penn faced Barkley's final shot by almost taking the ball away from him.

He didn't foul him. He got the best of Barkley for the second straight season. If Penn plays like he did in the final two minutes for the rest of the season, the Buckeyes will have enough of an edge to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament again. Guards and a shot blocker can take a team far.

"We have the talent," Penn said. "But the perception will always be there."

It should start changing this week. Ohio State has arrived -- for the second straight year.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.