The men’s basketball team defeated Penn State 66-60 in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament Thursday in Chicago.

Sophomore point guard Chester Frazier scored a career- and team-high 21 points for the Illini and led an otherwise inconsistent backcourt – the rest of the Illini guards combined for just seven points. Warren Carter added 19 points and Shaun Pruitt tallied 10 points along with a game-high 11 rebounds.

Illinois regrouped from a slow start, coming back from a quick 13-2 deficit before taking over the lead with a 20-3 run.

Penn State, the No. 11 seed, stuck with the sixth-seeded Illini for the majority of the game. But converted free throws by Frazier and Brian Randle down the stretch sealed the victory.

The Illini will face No. 3-seeded Indiana Hoosiers on Friday at 8 p.m. Illinois has now won 17 straight games at the United Center.