Coming off a sweep of the Pacific Northwest Big Ten programs, No. 13 Illinois (11-3, 3-1) returns to Champaign on Wednesday to face off against Penn State (12-3, 2-2). It will be the Illini’s first home game of 2025 and their first game at State Farm Center in 10 days.
Historically tough opponent for Illinois
The Nittany Lions have been a hump that the Illini haven’t been able to get over as of late. Illinois has lost four straight games to Penn State and are 4-7 overall under head coach Brad Underwood.
Last season, Penn State barely scraped by Illinois in University Park, 90-89. Former Illini forward Coleman Hawkins fouled now-senior forward Zach Hicks on a three-point shot with three seconds to go, sending Penn State to the free-throw line. Hicks made all three foul shots, pulling ahead of the Illini in the final moment.
This season’s Illinois roster may not have the revenge mindset due to the brand new group of players, but Underwood surely does not want to lose another game to a team that his previous teams haven’t performed very well against.
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Experienced Nittany Lions have multiple threats
Penn State may not be ranked or one of the more talked about teams in the Big Ten, but its experience and wide range of talent makes it a dangerous in-conference matchup. It returns five players from last year’s roster.
“Having that continuity and that carryover is huge, especially when it’s led by one of the better point guards in the country in Ace (Baldwin Jr.),” Underwood said.
This season, graduate student guard Ace Baldwin Jr. has led Penn State’s offensive. He’s averaged 14.8 points and 8.4 assists, making him an extremely dangerous threat, both as a scorer and someone who can create opportunities for his teammates. Baldwin hasn’t shot well lately, going 3-22 from deep in his last five games. However, Illinois, specifically junior guard Kylan Boswell, will need to put together a strong defensive effort to prevent him from attacking the basket.
Penn State has five other players who are averaging double-digits, including Hicks, who is shooting 43.3% from three on six attempts per game.
The Nittany Lions also have a threat by the rim in the form of 7-foot junior forward Yanic Konan Niederhauser. The Swiss center, a transfer from Northern Illinois, is averaging 12.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game while getting his shots to fall at an efficient 63.5% clip.
“The big kid from Northern has impacted their team a great deal with shot blocking, rim presence,” Underwood said. “He’s had a 15-rebound game. He’s helped solidify them on both ends of the floor.”
Keys for Illinois
The Illini won their last two games in completely different fashions. Their blowout win over Oregon (13-2, 2-2) came on the back of a season-high 16-29 three-point shooting performance, while they barely scraped past Washington (10-5, 1-3) a few days later despite shooting horribly from deep.
What remained consistent, though, was the production from three of the Illini’s starters. Boswell, freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis and junior guard Tre White all scored in double figures in both games.
“All three of those guys (Boswell, Jakucionis and White) are very, very capable, and they’ve all hit big shots at different times throughout the early season here,” Underwood said.
Boswell, Jakucionis and White will need to be on their A-games on Wednesday night offensively and continue to bring their intensity and competitiveness on both sides of the ball. Penn State is no slouch despite being unranked.
“They’re a hard-playing team, a hard-nosed team,” White said. “They got that Philly grit to them … We can’t take any team for granted. I try not to put any team higher than the other. We try to put every team as our Super Bowl.”
Baldwin is the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and his focus will likely be on Jakucionis or Boswell. He had five steals in Penn State’s recent win over Northwestern, who Illinois lost to in their Big Ten opener. Boswell, in his own right, is an extremely pesky defender and will need to anchor Illinois’ efforts to stop Baldwin. It should be a dogfight in the backcourt most of the game, considering that Boswell and Baldwin are both intense veteran two-way players.
“They’re going to pick up full court,” Underwood said. “They’ll allow you to turn the ball over just by mentally not being sharp. They’re very much like Missouri. They’re going to deny passing lanes, they’re going to crawl up in you, they blitz ball screens.”
Sophomore center Tomislav Ivisic against Konan Niederhauser will also be an interesting matchup. Ivisic is a stretch-big who can space the floor and shoot, while Konan Niederhauser has done most of his work in the post. However, Konan Niederhauser is athletic like Ivisic, and both are above 250 pounds. The battle of the big men will be a focus of this game, especially in rebounding.
Additionally, sophomore guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn must provide a continuity of energy off the bench. He shot an efficient 5-6 and 4-7 in Illinois’ last two games and provided intensity on both ends of the ball.
“We don’t win two games without Dravyn,” Underwood said. “Dravyn was tremendous, and I thought his decision-making was good. I thought his decisiveness was great. I think the game is slowing down for him even though he plays very fast.”
Tip-off
The Illini will make their 2025 debut at State Farm Center at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. The game will air on the Big Ten Network.
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