Penn State director of athletics Sandy Barbour met with the media Thursday in advance of the Fiesta Bowl and, while doing so, was asked about the status of men's basketball coach Patrick Chambers.

The 2017-18 season, Chambers' seventh at the helm of the Nittany Lions, is widely considered a "make-or-break" season. With his four best recruits all sophomores and juniors, the team needed to make the leap into legitimate postseason play.

It has been a rocky start for Chambers and Penn State. The team is 10-4 (1-1 Big Ten), but nine of those wins were against lackluster non-conference opponents. Only a road win against Iowa looks remotely impressive at this juncture.

That said, the team had avoided land mines up until last weekend, with the only losses coming to Texas A&M, NC State, and Wisconsin. It was on pace to essentially punt non-conference play and hope that a strong performance in Big Ten play would save the team's postseason hopes.

Then the Rider game happened. Entering as 16-point favorites on their home court, Penn State allowed the Broncs to hang around before the floor fell out in the final minute. Rider hit a buzzer-beating game winner to steal one from the Nittany Lions, and suddenly the seat looked red hot for Chambers.

So it is unsurprising that questions surrounding the basketball program have turned towards the job status of the head coach:

AD Sandy Barbour was asked about Pat Chambers and what needs to happen this season for that program to see progress. Big Ten play will be the indicator, she said. pic.twitter.com/9k86wtKUFw — Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) December 28, 2017

Here is the text of Barbour's statement:

"I've said it before: There is nobody putting more pressure on Patrick than Patrick himself, as a competitor, and that's true of all of us. I don't think anything has changed from the conversations that I have had with you all about where we need to see progress, [which] is in the Big Ten. [Which] is in our Big Ten schedule. Obviously, we played those two early games. Great win at Iowa, little bit of a disappointing loss at home against Wisconsin. But that entire Big Ten schedule is in front of [us], and I think we've got a great chance to make some noise in the Big Ten and do something from a postseason standpoint."

This answer may not satisfy some, who want to jumpstart the search for the next head coach. Chambers has always been enthusiastic about selling the program, and that rubs some Penn State fans the wrong way.

Look at some who still consider James Franklin, who has back-to-back double digit win seasons and recruiting set to keep Penn State a contender for the forseeable future, to be a "fraud" because of some close losses over the last two years, combined with a marketer's touch in handling the press. It's not for everyone.

Still, it is a lot harder to defend that approach when a team is losing, and Chambers has lost consistently during his time at Penn State. That Penn State has always been a losing men's basketball program does not negate the fact that the team has failed to get over the hump over the last six seasons.

Ultimately though, it should surprise no one that Barbour wants to let the season play out. It is a bad loss, but it is one that theoretically can be recovered from. Most would guess that Penn State's NCAA hopes are out the window, as the team would need to play with a consistency they have not shown to this point, and fans holding that view have every reason to do so.

But after a lot of patience to allow Chambers to bring in players like Tony Carr, Lamar Stevens, Mike Watkins, and Josh Reaves, does it really make sense to cut ties with 17 games remaining?

Barbour will have a big decision to make at the end of February no matter what. The ball is now in the court of this coaching staff and these players to make it easier on Barbour over the next two months.