The Penn State Nittany Lions (6-2) open Big Ten Conference play on the road against the No. 17 Illinois Fighting Illini (7-2, 0-1 Big 10) on Saturday. Penn State was defeated by the Clemson Tigers 101-94 at Littlejohn Coliseum on November 29. Camren Wynter was the leading scorer in the loss with 26 points.
Seth Lundy added 23 points and 12 rebounds. Illinois got the win on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, beating the Texas Longhorns 85-78. Matthew Mayer had 21 points and three blocks to lead the team. The teams are meeting for the only time this season. Illinois won the only game between the teams last season 60-55 at State Farm Center on March 3, their fourth straight head-to-head victory.
Da’Monte Williams led the Fighting Illini with 14 points. Jalen Pickett had 18 points and seven assists in the losing effort. Pickett is averaging 16.1 points per game to lead the Nittany Lions in scoring this season. Pickett also has dished 7.6 assists per game, seventh-most in the country. Meanwhile, Lundy is grabbing 7.1 rebounds.
Terrence Shannon Jr.’s 19.3 points per game have powered the Fighting Illini on offense. Shannon Jr. also has collected 6.2 rebounds per game. Coleman Hawkins has distributed 4.0 assists per game. The Fighting Illini are one of the highest-scoring offenses in the conference, ranking third with 81.3 points per game.
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Illinois -10.5 (-110)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
