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It’s nothing but conference play now for Penn State’s mens basketball team as they play their first game of 2026 tonight against No. 20 Illinois at 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
The Nittany Lions are 9-3 on the season, but winless in conference play after being splattered at Indiana and losing a late lead at home back in December against Michigan State. Meanwhile, the Illini are 10-3 (1-1 in B1G play).
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It’s also the Lions mostly annual trip to Philadelphia where they’ll fill the Palestra in white-clad fans and try to pull a big upset.
Scouting the Opposition
The Illini are indeed high flying. They are ranked in the top 25 and boast five starters that all average in double figures. Freshman guard Keaton Wagler is averaging 15.3 points and has been shooting 50 percent from 3-point range in the past five games. There’s also stat-stuffing guard Andrej Stojakovic who averages 14.8 points and 3.9 rebounds, while recording a double-double (19 points and 10 rebounds) in Illinois lone B1G loss to Nebraska. Forward David Mirkovic averages 13.8 points and 8.3 rebounds and has a 20-2o points-rebound game under his belt this season.
It goes without saying that Illinois is one of the more talented teams in the conference and will pose a major challenge in a lot of ways for Penn State tonight.
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What to Watch For
Rebound the ball: As noted with Stojakovic and Mirkovic, the Illini are an aggressive rebounding team and Penn State’s front court is slight and inexperienced. Keeping Illinois off the glass will be necessary if the Lions have any hopes of an upset.
Slow down the scorers: Penn State faced a similar good offensive team in Indiana back in its home opener and the Lions got torched. With plenty of scoring punch all over the floor, it’s going to take a team effort for the Lions to slow down this high-scoring attack.
Handle the environment: Put simply, Penn State has struggled away from the BJC this year. They were routed by Pitt in a neutral court game, while their trip to Bloomington ended in one of the bigger conference losses in recent years. While the crowd will be in their favor, Illinois will be excited as they make their first trip to the Palestra beating Temple back in 2003.
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Prediction
This is a brutal stretch for Penn State with No. 2 Michigan and No. 5 Purdue on deck. There’s hope here for an upset compared to those two, but I don’t see it happening.
Illinois 81, Penn State 68
YAY HOOPS
Use this as your open thread for the game. You know the drill. No illegal streams, no NSFW content, and be nice!
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