With a ten-day break between games, Jim Ferry’s crew had plenty of time to stew on what could have been when the team gave Michigan all they could handle but just couldn’t make the critical shot or get that critical stop when necessary. With Illinois coming to Happy Valley, they had a chance to rectify this issue.
The Nittany Lions came out of the gate like gangbusters, shooting a red-hot 80 percent from the floor in the game’s first five minutes as Myreon Jones’ 11 points led to a 19-4 advantage in the early going. The Illini clawed their way back however, with a healthy dose of Kofi Cockburn scoring in the paint, plus some hot shooting from Ayo Dosumnu and a few other Illini players to eventually erase said PSU lead with three minutes left in the half.