Big Ten Basketball on Wednesday features the Fighting Illini of Illinois on the road at the Nittany Lions of Penn State. Illinois comes into the game seeking their 20th win of the season. The Illini are ranked 12th in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll.
Illinois is 19-6 on the season, and sit in second place behind Purdue within the Big Ten standings. Illinois is coming off a road win at Maryland on Saturday.
For Penn State, they have had a tough season. The Nittany Lions have dropped three straight games, and six of their last ten overall. Penn State is coming off a blowout loss on the road at Nebraska on Saturday.
Illinois is -7 in this game. The total is listed at 157.
Fighting Illini Big Season
Brad Underwood and his Fighting Illini are a win away from 20 on the season. The Orange and Blue are also just 1.5 games out of first place in the Big Ten, so wins are a must if they want a shot. The Illini are also seeking their third straight win, and second in a row on the road.
The Illini are 20th in the nation in scoring. Illinois is scoring 83.1 points per game. The Fighting Illini are also one of the best rebounding teams in the nation; with nearly 39 per game. The leading scorer for the Orange and Blue is Terrence Shannon, with 21.4 points per game. Marcus Domask, the transfer from Southern Illinois is next, with 15.6.
Illinois will head back home after this game for back to back home games. The Illini will host Iowa on Saturday and then Minnesota. The final three games for the Illini are at Wisconsin, with Purdue and then on the road at Iowa.
Big Loss for Penn State
The big news this week for Penn State was the dismissal of top scorer Kanye Clary. He was scoring 16.7 points per game, and had monster games earlier in the season with 29 against Rider, 25 against Northwestern and 27 against Wisconsin. Lately, he had struggled, but the Nittany Lions will miss his presence big time.
Penn State has not won since February 8th, when they beat Iowa by 10. In their three losses, they are allowing 71 points per game. Penn State will now turn to Ace Baldwin, who is the lone Nittany Lion player scoring double digits per game. Baldwin is playing 35 minutes a game, and scoring 14 points per game.
The Nittany Lions will host Indiana following this game, on Saturday. Penn State finishes February on the road at Iowa. Once March arrives, the Nittany Lions have a road game at Minnesota and then finish at home against Maryland.
Illini win Big on the Road
Can the Nittany Lions keep the pace up against an Illinois team hungry to get a chance at a Big Ten regular season title? The Nittany Lions losing one of their best offensive players will certainly not help in this one. If the Illini want to be true contenders, they blow Penn State out, despite being on the road.
We expect that to happen. Illinois wins this game by double digits. Our final bet for this game is the Illinois Fighting Illini -7 over the Penn State Nittany Lions on Wednesday.
