Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions

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Feb 14, 2023; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard/forward Matthew Mayer (24) shoots the ball as Penn State Nittany Lions guard/forward Evan Mahaffey (12) during the second half at Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State defeated Illinois 93-81. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /

3. I had zero problems with Illinois’ offense

Illinois gave up 93 points to Penn State. This is the second-highest scoring total the Nittany Lions have had in the series’ history. The only one higher was during the 2000-01 season when the Crispin brothers torched the Illini for 98 points.

Even with the Illinois defense having zero answers for Penn State, I didn’t have any problems on the offensive end of the court.

I thought the Illini were playing pretty well offensively. We ended up scoring 81 points, which should win any game in college basketball. Coleman Hawkins had an okay day on the offensive end of the court. He drove the ball well and hit some good shots. There were a couple of ill-advised attempts, but you get that with Hawkins.

Jayden Epps, Terrence Shannon Jr., and Ty Rodgers are great drivers of the basketball. When they get around the hoop, they are almost unstoppable. I would argue that Epps is one of the best finishers in the game today.

I loved seeing Luke Goode back in action too. He played a couple of minutes in the last game, but Brad Underwood used him more against Penn State. Goode was able to go 1-of-2 from three-point range.

Offensively, I was okay with everything I saw on Tuesday night. I can’t put any of the blame for the loss on scoring.

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