Before tonight's game against Penn State, let's take a look at where some personnel for Northwestern stand:

Reggie Hearn: Should be good to go. Reggie missed one big game, against Michigan, but I don't think he would've been the difference, and he was able to give NU 27 minutes against Minnesota and performed decently, scoring 11 points on eight shots. Northwestern really, really needs him on both sides of the floor, so hopefully his ankle sprain is alright.

Sanjay Lumpkin: Out, indefinitely. Lumpkin's freshman season has been enigmatic, to say the least: first he had mono, that kept him out of the team's first games - games where he could have gotten some valuable playing time. Now, he has a wrist injury, and the news isn't good:

#Northwestern coach Bill Carmody on Sanjay Lumpkin: "It looks like a while before we can even think about whether he can go or not."

— Neil Hayes (@bynhayes) January 10, 2013

Lumpkin hasn't been a factor thus far, but he could've been, and with Northwestern strapped for depth, he would have helped. The word is he might have helped. With Reggie Hearn in the lineup, Northwestern likely won't have to turn again to James Montgomery III as the eighth man, but that was a thing that happened a few games ago. Word is he could redshirt this season, which would be a bummer, I guess.

JerShon Cobb: Cobb spoke to reporters yesterday for the first time since being suspended, and what we heard was... encouraging, I guess?

JerShon said he it "went through my mind" to transfer but he decided to stay: "I made the mistakes, not anyone else." #Northwestern

— Teddy Greenstein (@TeddyGreenstein) January 9, 2013

We'd heard Cobb would possibly able to start practicing with the team after fall quarter, and him talking with reporters now, exactly as the next quarter starts, makes me think he's probably eligible to do that. We'd also heard a trillion rustlings about WILL JERSHON COBB TRANSFER, so it's nice to know he won't. It sounds like he's in a better place, committed to his game and hopefully his hip is better.