Despite not having their leading scorer and projected NBA lottery draft pick, Illinois entirely and utterly embarrassed Penn State Basketball tonight. Poor on both ends of the ball, the Nittany Lions let up a 34-4 run that lasted over 10 minutes. The Fighting Illini would go on to win 91-52.
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Puff Johnson did not travel with the team for today’s game, and Ace Baldwin exited and did not return after suffering a back injury in the first half. It would not have made a difference in the result, but the Nittany Lions would have played somewhat more competitively with their two grittiest players.
The offense was stagnant, with minimal effective off-ball movement and another poor shooting night from beyond the arc (2-12). On the defensive side, Penn State allowed 30 points from deep and 14 dunks and layups. Illinois also dominated the boards, scoring 18 second-chance points on 19 offensive rebounds, compared to Penn State’s two second-chance points on six offensive rebounds.
Up Next
Amid a two-game losing streak, the Nittany Lions are in severe danger of being hit with an onslaught of losses. On Sunday, 15th-ranked Oregon will travel to State College, which will be a 4 pm tip in the Bryce Jordan Center. After that, Penn State will have a date with 16th-ranked Michigan State on the road in Lansing before returning to Happy Valley to host a Rutgers squad that defeated the Nittany Lions just under one month ago. Penn State must find a way to win one or two of these games to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive.
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