Updated rapid recap: Illini drop must-win game at home against Penn State
Illinois’ Te’Jon Lucas (3) takes a deep breath before shooting a free throw during the game against Penn State at State Farm Center on Saturday, February 11. The Illini lost 83-70.
February 11, 2017
In what was a must-win game for head coach John Groce and his Illinois basketball squad, the Illini fell flat, losing 83-70 to Penn State.
Illinois took on yet another new look starting lineup, slotting Kipper Nichols at the small forward position and bumping Malcolm Hill to the two-guard, alongside Te’Jon Lucas, Leron Black and Maverick Morgan.
The fresh lineup came slow out of the blocks. Nichols turned it over on his first touch of his first career start, while the team racked up nine first half turnovers. The Illinois offense that has been sputtering of late continued its downward slide, failing to reach 30 points in the first half. Hill was the only Illini to have more than one field goal in the period, and he led the way with 12 before the break.
A late first half run by the Nittany Lions stretched the Illinois deficit to 12 at the half. The middle twenty minutes of the game was reminiscent of the prior matchup between Illinois and Penn State, with Illinois falling behind by 19 midway through the second half. The Illini mounted a comeback with 10 minutes left, managing to cut the lead to five with five minutes to play behind a half-court trap defense leading to fast breaks.
“I thought our young guys really spear-headed that,” Groce said. “We need more out of our older guys. Not from the standpoint of needing more shots, but I thought the energy level with those guys could be better. They know that.”
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However, Illinois couldn’t bring it all together to complete the comeback, falling to Penn State by 13.
Te’Jon Lucas was a bright spot in the dim Illini offense, tallying 11 points and seven assists with only two turnovers on the day. Hill was quiet in the second half, adding only two second half points to finish with 14.
“Today (Malcolm) was pretty efficient shooting the ball, but I think he tried to make a play or two that wasn’t there,” Groce said. “They did a good job of defending him and made it hard on him.”
Groce stuck with his same eight-man rotation he featured in the upset win over Northwestern, bringing Michael Finke, Jalen Coleman-Lands and Tracy Abrams off the bench. Seniors Michael Thorne Jr. and Jaylon Tate did not see action for the second straight game.
With the loss the Illini drop to 4-9 in conference play, and will most likely need to win out in conference play to have even a shot at the NCAA Tournament.
Illinois will have a week off before facing Iowa next Saturday, and the break will come at a great time for the Illini.
“It is February, it’s time to take care of our bodies, and it will definitely give us more time to prepare for our next game,” Coleman-Lands said. “ We’re going to try to take advantage of that.”
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