Another year, another upset of Illinois at home for Penn State.
The Nittany Lions (10-10, 2-5 Big Ten) defeated the No. 25 Fighting Illini 54-52 on Thursday night at the Bryce Jordan Center, giving them three wins against ranked Illinois teams at home in the last three seasons.
Cammeron Woodyard was the big scorer for Penn State, posting a 17-point, 4-rebound line on the evening. Tim Frazier was close behind with 12 points, nine assists and four rebounds. Jonathan Graham and Matt Glover had seven rebounds each.
For Illinois, Brandon Paul led the way with 20 points, a big number, but a steep departure from the 43 he posted in the Illini's upset of then-No. 5 Ohio State the last time out on Jan. 10.
The win draws the Lions back to the .500 mark after dropping below with an 80-66 loss against Minnesota on Sunday.
For full reaction from players and coaches plus much more on the upset, stay tuned to SB Nation Pittsburgh on Friday.
It's snowy outside in Happy Valley, but inside the Bryce Jordan Center, the action is red-hot as Penn State leads No. 25 Illinois 25-23 at halftime.
Led by 10 points by senior Cammeron Woodyard and eight from junior point guard Tim Frazier, the Nittany Lions used solid defense to keep the Fighting Illini in check despite shooting just 34.6 percent from the field themselves. Illinois shot just 33.3 percent in the half, including 3-12 shooting from beyond the 3-point line. Penn State also forced seven Illini turnovers.
Illinois' Brandon Paul, coming off 43 points against Ohio State on Jan. 10, was held to just nine points in the half, though he still leads his team in scoring. D.J. Richardson and Meyers Leonard have six points each. The rest of the team has just two combined points.
The Illini led by as many as eight in the half, but Penn State went on a 16-6 run to close the half to earn the lead.
For a recap after the game and reaction from players and coaches, stay tuned to SB Nation Pittsburgh Thursday night and Friday morning.
