Jan. 30, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Nittany Lion basketball team (14-7, 2-6 Big Ten) heads on the road to Illinois (13-8, 3-5 Big Ten) on Saturday (1 p.m. on BTN) seeking its third-straight conference victory.
Despite the absence of starting forward Brandon Taylor, the Lions competed from start to finish on the defensive end of the floor en route to edging Minnesota, 63-58, on Wednesday evening for their second-straight Big Ten win. Penn State's effort is what has stood out to head coach Patrick Chambers during the two-game winning streak.
"We are playing much harder and much more together," Chambers said. "I think there is a lot more trust out there. And we've started to play smaller. We are a lot faster and quicker out there. We have good speed, so we are getting to shooters and not fouling."
Much like the first six games of the conference season, the Lions put themselves in a good position to win in the latter stages of the Minnesota game. The difference in the outcomes of the games? Penn State made the winning plays Chambers has talked about since the season began in November. The Lions forced Minnesota into two critical turnovers in the final minute and solidified the win with free throws. The team's ever growing confidence in tight situations is beginning to lend itself to positive results.
"Against, Minnesota, we made the plays (down the stretch) to win," said Chambers. "It's good for us to see some winning plays."
Chambers said he is hopeful that Taylor could return on Saturday at Illinois, but he is still day-to-day with a slight knee sprain. Without Taylor on the floor, Penn State will again turn to a host of players for increased roles on both ends of the floor. Wednesday's game illustrated the team's depth and ability to live by the "next man up" mantra. From Devin Foster to Julian Moore, Penn State has received quality minutes from its role players, which has in turn played a huge role in the team's recent success.
"It is showing our depth," Chambers said. "They have to play. They are stepping up, making plays and playing with confidence. I'm letting them play through some mistakes, too. I need to let them do that because they need reps."
Illinois comes into the game after a bye week. Minnesota knocked off Illinois by a score of 79-71 last Saturday in its most recent outing. The Illini have conference wins against Maryland (64-57), at Northwestern (72-67) and against Purdue (66-57).
The Illini's leading scorer Rayvonte Rice (17.2 ppg) has been out for the last six games with a hand injury. Head coach John Groce indicated on Thursday that Rice could play in Saturday's game. Malcolm Hill (14.0) and Kendrick Nunn (11.0) are also averaging double-figures for the Illini. Illinois has scored 70.8 points per game in the last four conference games.
"They play hard. They are really tough. They have a really good young team," Chambers said. "Just like us, they are battling a little bit of the injury bug...They make close to eight threes a game. They rebound the ball really well. They defend. They mix it up. They have a lot of really solid, young talent."
The Nittany Lions and Illini will meet just one time during the regular season. Penn State is 5-13 all-time in games contested at Illinois.