STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Injuries and distractions have taken a toll on Illinois.

Fortunately for the Illini, their defense is pretty good. If their front line keeps dominating opponents the way it did against Penn State on Saturday in a 68-50 win, Illinois might not have a problem getting into the NCAA tournament.

But coach Bruce Weber isn’t taking anything for granted, especially with a March 3 game against Iowa left on the regular-season schedule.

“I feel better, but I don’t think there are any guarantees,” Weber said Saturday after his starting frontline combined to burn the Nittany Lions for 47 points. “Who goes, who doesn’t – maybe it’s how you finish your last two.”

Center Shaun Pruitt led with 20 points, forward Warren Carter had 17 and forward Brian Randle added 10 for the Illini (21-9, 9-6 Big Ten), who never trailed.

Mike Walker paced Penn State with 14 points – all in the second half, while Geary Claxton added 12 as the cellar-dwelling Lions (10-17, 1-13) lost their 13th straight.

“Of course it’s taking its toll,” said Claxton, who was hounded for much of the afternoon by Randle. “We’ve just got to keep playing.”

Illinois had its own turmoil this week.

On Wednesday, the university retired the school’s longtime mascot, Chief Illinwek, which the NCAA had deemed an offensive use of American Indian imagery.

On Friday, 19-year-old sophomore Jamar Smith pleaded not guilty to charges of drunken driving and leaving the scene of an accident on Feb. 12 in which he and 19-year-old teammate Brian Carlwell were injured.

Other injuries have hampered Illinois as well, including one to Carter, who suffered a hip injury in December; Randle, who had been bothered by a sore foot; and point guard Chester Frazier who dislocated a finger in practice on Feb. 17.

On Saturday, backup forward Marcus Arnold limped off the floor after spraining an ankle while going for a rebound in the second half.

Still, Illinois has won six of its last seven, holding opponents to 50 points or less in each of those wins.

Weber hopes the NCAA tournament selection committee takes note of how the Illini have handled the adversity.

“We got to have an asterisk next to our name for all the things we’ve gone through and how many games we’ve missed,” Weber said.

They had little trouble on Saturday. Illinois led the entire way but pulled away in the second half. While defense might be their forte this season, the Illini offense stepped up against Penn State.

Pruitt hit a layup in the second half after stripping a rebound from Walker before Randle sailed through the Lion defense for a dunk that riled up about 50 noisy Illinois fans. Their bright orange shirts stood out in a sea of blue-and-white.

Pruitt hit another bucket after receiving a pass on the baseline from Frazier to give Illinois a 57-41 lead with seven minutes left.

Walker was a bright spot, netting four second-half 3-pointers as Penn State tried to rally.

But Claxton, a 6-foot-5 forward, was held scoreless until late in the first half. The Lions’ second scoring option, forward Jamelle Cornley, managed just five points against an Illinois defense that holds conference opponents to 55.9 points a game, the stingiest mark in the Big Ten.