Illinois at Penn State
3:30 pm
TV: Big Ten Network
How are you feeling about Illinois basketball? Did the team’s victory over Iowa change your mind at all? Do you still think they’re a bubble team? Perhaps the weirdest thing about Illinois basketball this year, is that you can make arguments to justify feeling just about anything regarding this team.
Illinois is only one win from being 5th in the conference; the team’s winning percentage in conference play is only .375. Illinois has wins over NC State (14-7, beat Duke last week) and VCU (15-5, potential A10 champion); the average margin of victory against the Illini for Maryland (twice), Indiana, and Purdue was 20 points. Illinois’s future opponents have a combined conference win percentage of .460; the Big Ten is aggresively mediocre this year.
So, Penn State is up this weekend for Illinois. What do they bring? A win over Michigan State, but a loss to Michigan; a close win over Minnesota, but blowout losses against Purdue and Wisconsin. In other words, aggressive mediocrity. In conference play, the Nittany Lions are getting outscored by opponents, have a losing record at home and away, and boast only two players scoring in double-digits on average. Illinois should beat Penn State based on a number of factors, but Illinois has been all over the place, so expect nothing.
My prediction: Tony Carr lifts the hosts past Illinois in a sloppy contest.