The Penn State Nittany Lions host Illinois on Thursday, looking to build on their 9-10 mark against the 15-3 Fighting Illini in college hoops action at Bryce Jordan Center.

The Nittany Lions sport records of 9-10 and 4-8-2 ATS heading into this battle, while the Fighting Illini have 15-3 and 8-8 ATS marks on the season. The OVER/UNDER records are 6-8 for the Nittany Lions and 8-8 for the Fighting Illini.



View Illinois vs Penn State Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
If you're going with the Nittany Lions in this one, they're listed as 4-point underdogs on the NCAAB betting menu for Monday's contest.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
This game matches up the No. 182 (Nittany Lions) and the No. 71 (Fighting Illini) teams in the league, according to our current NCAAB power rank. A 72-64 result in favor of the Fighting Illini has been projected by the scores prediction engine.



How They Match Up:
The game also pits Penn State's No. 266-ranked offense, averaging 63.8 PPG, against a Fighting Illini defense that ranks No. 43 at 61 PPG. The Nittany Lions field goal percentage has averaged 38.8% so far, less than the Fighting Illini marksmen have achieved on the year, 45.8% per game.

Defensively, Illinois features the nation's No. 56-rated defense on the road, allowing 64.3 points per game. Penn State, meanwhile, comes in at No. 265 nationally in scoring at home.

Illinois was a 79-74 Sportsbook in their most recent outing at home against Ohio State. They covered the 8.5-point spread as underdogs. Brandon Paul poured in a team-high 43 points for Illinois on Tuesday, as they defeated Ohio State 79-74 at University of Illinois Assembly Hall.

In their last action, Penn State was an 80-66 loser at home against Minnesota. They failed to cover the 3-point spread as underdogs. Cammeron Woodyard scored 22 points in a futile effort to lead the Nittany Lions to a win (they lost 80-66 to Minnesota at Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday).


Illinois Fighting Illini Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 5-5
Before playing Wisconsin are 5-5
After playing Ohio State are 6-4
After a win are 7-3

Penn State Nittany Lions Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 6-4
Before playing Indiana are 3-7
After playing Minnesota are 3-7
After a loss are 4-6

A few Fighting Illini at Nittany Lions trends to consider:
Illinois is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games when playing on the road against Penn State
Illinois is 4-10 SU in its last 14 games on the road
Illinois is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Penn State
Penn State is 16-7 SU in its last 23 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Penn State's last 6 games when playing Illinois
Penn State is 4-9 SU in its last 13 games when playing at home against Illinois
Penn State is 7-16 SU in its last 23 games when playing Illinois


Next up:
Illinois home to Wisconsin, Sunday, January 22
Penn State at Indiana, Sunday, January 22