No. 12 Illinois visits Penn State after Shannon's 27-point game

Published Feb. 20, 2024 3:43 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Illinois Fighting Illini (19-6, 10-4 Big Ten) at Penn State Nittany Lions (12-14, 6-9 Big Ten)

University Park, Pennsylvania; Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: No. 12 Illinois faces the Penn State Nittany Lions after Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 27 points in Illinois' 85-80 win over the Maryland Terrapins.

The Nittany Lions have gone 9-4 in home games. Penn State averages 74.8 points and has outscored opponents by 1.5 points per game.

The Fighting Illini are 10-4 against Big Ten opponents. Illinois is fourth in college basketball with 42.2 rebounds per game. Quincy Guerrier leads the Fighting Illini with 7.2.

Penn State scores 74.8 points per game, 4.1 more points than the 70.7 Illinois gives up. Illinois averages 8.5 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.7 more made shots on average than the 5.8 per game Penn State allows.

The matchup Wednesday is the first meeting this season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kanye Clary is averaging 16.7 points for the Nittany Lions. Adrian Baldwin Jr. is averaging 15.4 points over the last 10 games for Penn State.

Shannon is scoring 21.4 points per game with 4.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists for the Fighting Illini. Marcus Domask is averaging 17.7 points and 3.4 assists over the last 10 games for Illinois.

LAST 10 GAMES: Nittany Lions: 4-6, averaging 72.5 points, 28.9 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 7.6 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 44.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.2 points per game.

Fighting Illini: 7-3, averaging 83.8 points, 40.4 rebounds, 12.5 assists, 4.9 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 44.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.5 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.