The game opened up at a quick pace with both teams trading baskets early without much defense to stop them.
Lamar Stevens was a huge problem that Illinois wasn’t able to solve. He already had 9 points after 8 minutes of play and he finished the first half with 15 points.
The back-and-forth continued in the first half along with the high scoring until a 15-3 run by Penn State opened up a 34-22 lead with just under six minutes to play. The Penn State defense started to make things tough in half-court sets for the Illini offense.