Illinois @ Penn St. preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 23, 2019 ) Penn St. 83, Illinois 76

Despite having its NCAA Tournament hopes squashed with a 10-game slide to open Big Ten Conference play, Penn State has refused to roll over, winning six of its last nine games. After a thrilling victory at Rutgers, the Nittany Lions host Illinois on Sunday in the conference finale for teams desperate for a win to avoid first-round games in next week's conference tournament.

Josh Reaves blocked a layup attempt with one second left - the third Rutgers shot in the final sequence - to thwart a big comeback attempt and provide Penn State a 66-65 win on Wednesday, the Lions' fourth victory in five games. "I'm proud of my team," coach Pat Chambers said afterward. "A really hostile environment and we came out and played really good the first 20 minutes and we did just enough in the second 20 to sneak out of here, steal a win." Illinois, which won four straight games back in mid-February, including wins over Michigan State and Ohio State, dropped its fourth game in its last five with Thursday's 92-74 home loss to Indiana. The Nittany Lions, who have won five straight in the series, posted an 83-76 win at Illinois on Feb. 23 behind 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting by Lamar Stevens and 10 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks by Mike Watkins.

TV: Noon ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT ILLINOIS (11-19, 7-12 Big Ten): Avo Dosunmu scored 16 points and fellow freshman Giorgi Bezhanishvili added 15 and eight rebounds, but the Hoosiers shot 55.4 percent, committed just seven turnovers and won the battle of the boards 35-27. The Illini, who entered hat game shooting 42.4 percent from the field in conference games, shot 50 percent, including 10-of-21 beyond the arc, but a defense that ranks last in the conference games in field-goal percentage defense (46.7) was problematic again. Illinois will need contributions from their big three: Dosunmu (14.1 points, 3.2 assists), sophomore guard Trent Frazier (13.9 points, team-high 75 3-pointers) and Bezhanishvili (12.0 points, 5.3 rebounds) to knock off the Nittany Lions.

ABOUT PENN STATE (13-17, 6-13): Stevens led three players in double-figure scoring with 18 points against Rutgers, who led by 20 early in the second half before holding off the Scarlet Knights' late charge. Watkins (7.6 points, 7.6 rebounds) pulled down 14 rebounds and moved into Penn State's all-time top 10 with 715. Stevens leads the team in scoring (19.9 points, second in Big Ten) and rebounding (7.8, eighth), Reaves leads the team in assists (2.9) and steals (conference-high 2.4) while scoring 10 points a game, while freshman Rasir Bolton adds 12.1 points and shoots 37 percent from 3-point range and 87.4 percent from the line.

TIP-INS

1. Illinois will receive a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament with a win over Penn State, but the Nittany Lions will still need some help to get the first day off should they beat the Fighting Illini.

2. Penn State has at least six Big Ten Conference wins for the fourth straight season, a program first, and its three Big Ten road wins in 2018-19 match a program high.

3. Stevens is shooting 42.2 percent for the season and 41.4 in conference games, but the 6-8 junior is averaging 20.2 points in 19 Big Ten contests.

PREDICTION: Penn State 74, Illinois 67