It’s going to take something huge to get the Illini fired up, but Wednesday’s game against Penn State wasn’t it.

With five minutes elapsed in the game, Dee Brown got the ball on a fast break, and in a frantic two-on-one sprint down the court slammed it against the glass. Roger Powell Jr. appeared behind the Penn State defender, grabbed the rebound and sent the crowd into hysterics as he stuffed the ball into the hoop, earning his second personal foul of the game in the process.

The fans were furious at the call. Coach Bruce Weber wasn’t happy with the showy play.

But the players took the move – and the milestone win – in stride.

“At their age I don’t know if they appreciate it,” Weber said. “I think they’ll appreciate it 10, 15 years down the road, and definitely 30 years from now or whenever they’re looking back on it.”

Illinois had no problem out-performing the Nittany Lions in Wednesday’s 90-64 victory. And as the targets on their backs grow bolder, the No. 1 Illini keep playing with the same placid attitude.

James Augustine, Luther Head and Powell Jr. each pulled down seven rebounds, and Head and Brown drained five three-pointers each, leading the team to a new program single-game record 15 3-pointers.

“Luther, you could see he was in a groove right from the start,” Weber said. “It’s definitely one of our strengths and a positive weapon.”

Although the Illini struggled to break away, they eventually did. With 15:31 to play in the first half, guard Danny Morrissey made a layup to put Penn State ahead 10-8, but Illinois responded with a 10-point run, and by halftime they were up 41-25.

“At the beginning of the year we set the tone, and now we’ve kind of mentally prepared ourselves for the game, thinking well, we’re going to be fine,” Weber said. “Then teams come out and they’re playing with a fear factor.

“They’re playing No. 1; they’re playing at Assembly Hall. They’ve watched the Wake Forest game, they’ve watched games and they’re like, ‘Man, we’ve got to be ready to play,’ and we end up adjusting to them instead of them adjusting to us.”

While Brown and Head drained threes, guard Deron Williams patiently handed the ball off time after time, racking up 12 assists while remaining one of Illinois’ top-three scorers with 11 points.

It was another example on a season-long list of times Illinois played as a team, not a group of stars. And another example of the Illini taking it all in stride.

“These guys stepped up this year. I’m getting the ball and I know they’re hot,” Williams said. “Both (Brown and Head) shooting near 50 percent from the three, you can’t beat that.”

Weber wants to see the Illini fired up. He said he is waiting for them to come out of the locker room hungry to win, not just focusing on how to improve their overall game.

But when Penn State (6-10, 0-3) stepped on to the court, there was no fire. There was hardly a spark.

It’s not that the Illini aren’t excited to be playing. And it’s not as though the historic performance was meaningless for the team. They are happy to earn another place in the record books.

It’s just that the Illini – who are on a 12-game winning streak in Big Ten Conference play – have other things to worry about besides Penn State, a team that has not won in 12 games.

So what will it take to light a fire under the player’s shoes?

“We’ve got a long ways to go,” Williams said. “We’ve still got a Big Ten Championship to try to win, a Big Ten Tournament Championship to win and then go on to the post-season.”