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

By Rees Woodcock

Feb 14, 2023; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; A general view of the Bryce Jordan Center prior to the game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Penn State Nittany Lions. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 14, 2023; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; A general view of the Bryce Jordan Center prior to the game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Penn State Nittany Lions. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 14, 2023; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Coleman Hawkins (33) defends as Penn State Nittany Lions guard/forward Myles Dread (2) holds the ball during the second half at Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State defeated Illinois 93-81. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 14, 2023; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Coleman Hawkins (33) defends as Penn State Nittany Lions guard/forward Myles Dread (2) holds the ball during the second half at Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State defeated Illinois 93-81. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Things just got more complicated in the Big Ten

With an Illinois win, we would have been up there in the top four in the Big Ten and on track for a double-bye in the conference tournament. Things would have been going great.

That didn’t happen, though. Illinois lost to Penn State, and now the Big Ten standings just got a little tougher.

Illinois is in a tie for fourth place in the Big Ten with three other teams. The bad part about this four-way tie is that the tiebreaker is the combined record of all of the tied teams against each other. So, Illinois is 1-2 against the other three teams. Iowa is 2-1, Michigan State is 2-1, and Maryland is 1-2. The Terrapins beat Illinois, so they are ahead of us right now.

This leaves the Illini on the No. 7 seed line for the Big Ten Tournament. We would be playing on Thursday, but I don’t want this. I want the double-bye and to start on Friday.

There is still a chance that we can move up in the Big Ten standings, but that loss to Penn State has made things much harder. If we would have won on Tuesday night, the Illini would be ahead of the three teams mentioned above. We are now tied with those three teams, and we don’t play them again this season. That means we have to finish with a better Big Ten record if we want to actually get a better seed.

Illinois travels to No. 14 Indiana this weekend. This is going to be a make-or-break game in my opinion. If we fall in this game, the double-bye is out of the question. Not only that, but the Illini would have lost three out of the past four contests. At that point, I would start worrying about NCAA tournament seeding.

Honestly, at this point, we are only 2.5 games up on Penn State in the Big Ten standings. If we drop a few games on the way out, there is a chance that we end up playing on Wednesday. We could end up as a bottom-four seed in the Big Ten Tournament. I don’t think that will happen, but it isn’t out of the question just yet. Let’s start winning again.

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