Ben Humrichous Scores 21 Points as Illinois Defeats Penn State

Morez Johnson Jr. had a career-high 20 points and 11 rebounds, Ben Humrichous scored a season-high 21 points, and No. 13 Illinois defeated Penn State 91-52 on Wednesday night to win five straight games.

Despite scoring leader Kasparas Jakucionis being sidelined due to a bruised forearm, Tre White scored 20 points to help Illinois (12-3, 4-1 Big Ten) win.

Ace Baldwin Jr., a standout player for Penn State, did not play in the second half after aggravating a back ailment early in the first. He missed all six of his shots and failed to score.

Nick Kern Jr. led the Nittany Lions (12-4, 2-3) with 13 points. Zach Hicks contributed eleven.

Takeaways

Illinois: Illinois had to defeat rival Penn State without Jakucionis, whose absence was revealed just prior to the game, after sweeping No. 9 Oregon and Washington on a West Coast tour. Humrichous and Johnson compensated for Jakucionis’s absence.

Penn State: With an average of 86.8 points per game, the Nittany Lions entered the game as the tenth-highest scoring team in the country. They had scored more than 80 points in six consecutive games, setting a program record. In their game versus Illinois, Penn State shot 31%.

Key moment

The Illini led 26–13 after a 21-2 surge in the first half. During that time, Penn State went 7:56 without a field goal and missed nine consecutive shots.

Up next

Illinois: On Saturday, they will host Southern California.

On Sunday, Penn State will host Oregon, ranked ninth.