Penn State vs. Illinois, Big Ten Tournament: Stream, injury report, broadcast info
Looking to make one final statement to secure an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament, the Penn State Nittany Lions are set to begin what they hope will be a good run in the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament on Thursday. Penn State faces Illinois Thursday evening with hopes of moving on to a Friday matchup with Northwestern.
A few bracketology updates already have Penn State in the big dance, but Jalen Pickett and company know it would serve them well to not be one-and-done in Chicago at the Big Ten tournament. One win against Illinois could prove to be enough to keep the bubble intact, so Penn State will have to play a good clean game and take this tournament one game at a time.
Here is how to catch all of the action as Penn State faces Illinois on Thursday. The full Big Ten tournament schedule and updated tracker can be found here.
Broadcast and stream info
Date: Thursday, March 9, 2023
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
TV Channel: Big Ten Network
Live Stream: fuboTV (watch here)
Penn State vs. Illinois injury report
Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Penn State continues to be without forward [autotag]Caleb Dorsey[/autotag] due to an undisclosed injury that has been lingering throughout the season. There is no timetable for his return to the lineup, so Penn State will look to move on without him as long as necessary.
Illinois guard Jaden Epps is questionable for the Big Ten tournament matchup with the Nittany Lions. Epps is in concussion protocol, leaving his status for the Thursday game in some doubt.
Updated college basketball injury updates can be found on the USA TODAY Sports injury report.
Stat leaders
Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
POINTS
Jalen Pickett, Penn State: 18.0 ppg
Terrence Shannon, Illinois: 17.1 ppg
REBOUNDS
Jalen Pickett, Penn State: 6.3 rpg
Coleman Hawkins, Illinois: 6.4 rpg
ASSISTS
Jalen Pickett, Penn State: 7.0 apg
Coleman Hawkins, Illinois: 3.0 apg
ESPN BPI Outlook
Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
It is believed that being any one team three times in a single season is one of the more difficult tasks to pull off. Penn State is about to find out just how difficult it can be after winning the two regular season meeting with Illinois. The Nittany Lions, as the lower seed, do enter this Big Ten tournament matchup as the underdog, but they should be feeling confident in their chances after taking both regular season contests with the Illini.
But the ESPN Basketball Power Index suggests Illinois has the better odds of moving on to face Northwestern in the second round. Penn State has just a 37.1% chance of winning against the Illini according to the ESPN BPI, which gives Illinois a 62.9% chance of victory.
