Penn State set to host No. 12 Illinois on Wednesday night in Rec Hall
The Penn State Nittany Lions have cooked up some upset magic already this season and will look to do so again as No. 12 Illinois comes to town for a Big Ten battle on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. But it won't be just any other game for the Nittany Lions as they'll face off against the Illini in Rec Hall.
Penn State has dropped three straight since defeating Iowa on February 8th. Mike Rhoades has also had to deal with some extra curricular activities with leading scorer Kanye Clary being dismissed from the program this week after having been in and out of the lineup for weeks. The Nittany Lions are 12-14 on the season and 6-9 during Big Ten play.
Illinois on the other hand had enjoyed another stellar campaign in Champaign, at 19-6 overall and 10-4 in the conference, which is good for second place. The Illini have also won five of their last six heading into Wednesday's game.
Happy Valley Insider gets you primed for the matchup in Happy Valley this evening.
WHERE, WHEN, HOW TO WATCH
WHEN: February 21st, 2024 - 6:30 p.m. ET
WHERE: Rec Hall (6,502) -- State College, Pennsylvania
SPREAD: Illinois -8 / 157 over/under
TV/STREAM: BTN
Radio: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
STAT COMPARISON
| Penn State | STAT | Illinois |
|---|---|---|
|
74.8 (156) |
PS/G |
83.1 (20) |
|
73.3 (227) |
PA/G |
70.7 (144) |
|
43.8% (232) |
FG% |
46.4% (84) |
|
51.3% (143) |
2P% |
54.4% (39) |
|
32.7% (229) |
3P% |
34.2% (153) |
|
74.2% (87) |
FT% |
74.2% (85) |
|
34.2 (345) |
REB/G |
45.6 (5) |
|
9.42 (257) |
O-REB/G |
12.8 (28) |
|
1.09 (184) |
AST/TO RATIO |
1.19 (132) |
|
69.9 (64) |
TEMPO |
69.9 (65) |
|
1.108 (95) |
OFF EFF |
1.231 (5) |
|
1.025 (104) |
DEF EFF |
0.992 (48) |
RANKINGS COMPARISON
| TEAM | KenPom | ESPN BPI | Haslam | NET | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Penn State |
95 |
102 |
82 |
99 |
94.5 |
|
Illinois |
9 |
10 |
10 |
12 |
10.25 |
Who is Penn State's projected starting five?
| Position | Player | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
G |
14.0 |
2.2 |
5.3 |
|
|
G |
7.1 |
2.0 |
0.7 |
|
|
F |
7.9 |
3.5 |
1.0 |
|
|
F |
8.2 |
4.0 |
1.5 |
|
|
C |
9.0 |
7.6 |
0.5 |
Who is Illinois' projected starting five?
| Position | Player | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
G |
21.4 |
4.0 |
2.4 |
|
|
G |
15.6 |
4.8 |
3.4 |
|
|
F |
6.8 |
5.4 |
2.3 |
|
|
F |
12.4 |
6.2 |
2.8 |
|
|
F |
10.6 |
7.2 |
0.2 |
Penn State vs Illinois Four Factors
| TEAM | Eff. FG% | Turnover % | Off. Reb % | FT RATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Penn State |
50.4% |
15.7% |
26.4 |
34.4 |
|
Illinois |
53.2% |
15.4% |
35.6 |
35.7 |
--------------------------------------------------------------
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel