Illinois basketball embracing target on its back
WCIA — Illinois men’s basketball has the most wins in the Big Ten from 2019 to now, two more than Purdue in that time period.
In that time the Illini have gotten used to playing with a target on their back. Last week Maryland drew 18,000 fans to the Xfinity Center for a match-up with the Illini, its most for a Big Ten game this season. At Michigan State earlier in February, Sparty chose the game as a reunion for one their former teams. If it seems like Illinois is getting games where the other team is trying to improve their home-court advantage, the Illini see it that way too.
With Penn State returning to historic Rec Hall for the first time in almost a decade on Wednesday, Illinois knows it is just another game that requires their A-game.
“It’s great to be Illinois, right? It’s great to be Illinois,” head coach Brad Underwood said. “I haven’t forgot what it was like to be 13th or 14th [in the Big Ten]. It’s nice to have other people’s attention and respect. You have to perform at that level and handle those moments, absolutely. I like being Illinois.”
“It has a lot to do with us having the most wins out of Big Ten teams,” sophomore Ty Rodgers said. “We know we’re going to be every team’s Super Bowl and that’s how we prepare. It’s all good, we like it. It’s fun for us.”
Penn State is 2-1 in games played at Rec Hall since they moved into the Bryce Jordan Center in 1996, with its only loss coming to Princeton in overtime.
The Nittany Lions will be without leading scorer Kanye Clancy, who was dismissed from the team this week. Tip-off in University Park is at 5:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
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