Illinois vs. Penn State Preview
University Park, PA (AP) – After a disappointing finish to its non-conference schedule, things could not be going much better for Illinois in Big Ten play.
The 16th-ranked Illini look to continue their torrid shooting and open 4-0 in conference for a second straight season Tuesday night when they visit a Penn State team trying to knock off consecutive ranked opponents.
Current college basketball odds and oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made Illinois 5.5-point spread favorites for Tuesday’s game against Penn State. Current college basketball public betting information shows that 86% of more than 555 bets for this game have been placed on Illinois –5.5.
Illinois’ offense was completely out of sync in losing its final two non-conference games. The Illini (13-3, 3-0) shot 32.7 percent in a 57-54 loss to Illinois-Chicago on Dec. 18, and 38.6 percent four days later while losing 75-64 to then-No. 9 Missouri.
To say Illinois has regained its shooting touch since beginning conference play would be an understatement.
In Big Ten games, the Illini are averaging 81.3 points on 64.7-percent shooting – the best percentage over any three-game stretch in school history. They’re also connecting on 63.6 percent of their attempts from 3-point range (28 of 44), their second-best percentage from beyond the arc over three games.
In Thursday’s 88-63 win over Northwestern, Illinois missed just four of its 22 first-half shots and finished shooting a school-record 70.5 percent. Demetri McCamey had 14 points to lead the Illini, who placed six players in double figures.
“We’ve got a lot of unselfish people on this team that want to win ball games,” said McCamey, who is averaging 18.3 points, 8.0 assists and shooting 62.5 percent in the last three games.
If Illinois again comes out shooting well, Penn State might have trouble keeping up.
The Nittany Lions (9-6, 2-2) have scored 69 points or fewer in each of their last seven games, and are 0-5 when their opponent scores at least 74.
The Illini won both games against Penn State last season after losing four of the previous five meetings. McCamey had 25 points in a one-point home win over the Nittany Lions on Jan. 12, and six points and nine assists in a 77-67 victory at Penn State on Jan. 27.
Penn State was a bit sluggish offensively Saturday against then-No. 18 Michigan State, but came up with a big shot when it needed one and won 66-62.
Senior guard Talor Battle, the Big Ten’s leading scorer at 20.5 points, hit an off-balance jumper to give the Nittany Lions a three-point lead with 18 seconds left. Battle, who had missed 10 of 12 shots before coming up with that clutch basket, finished with 13 points.
“Everyone on the team wanted me to make a play,” said Battle, who averaged 13.8 points on 30.6-percent shooting in four games against the Illini over the past two seasons.
Beating the Spartans was encouraging victory for Penn State, which snapped a 10-game losing streak to Top 25 teams. The Nittany Lions had fallen 83-68 to then-No. 11 Purdue three days earlier to begin a stretch of five straight games against ranked opponents.
“This game is huge for us because Michigan State is a great team, the win really gives us confidence,” forward David Jackson told Penn State’s official website. “But at the same time we need to keep our focus. We have a lot of games moving forward in the Big Ten.”
The Lions outrebounded the Spartans 40-36, improving to 7-1 when winning the battle of the boards. They’re 1-5 when getting outrebounded, however, and could have trouble on the glass against the Illini.
Illinois, which outrebounded Northwestern 40-17, has a rebounding edge of 11.0 per game during its winning streak.
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