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GAME 27

UI men vs. Penn State, 6 p.m. today

LINEUPS

ILLINOIS (21-5, 9-4 Big Ten)

Probable starters

No. P Name HT. YR. PPG

3 G Chester Frazier 6-2 Sr. 5.3

1 G Trent Meacham 6-2 Sr. 10.1

32 G Demetri McCamey 6-3 So. 12.0

24 F Mike Davis 6-9 So. 10.8

54 C Mike Tisdale 7-1 So. 11.2

Top reserves

23 F Dominique Keller 6-7 Jr. 6.2

25 G Calvin Brock 6-5 Sr. 5.0

33 G Alex Legion 6-5 So. 4.5

PENN STATE (18-8, 7-6)

Probable starters

No. P Name HT. YR. PPG

12 G Talor Battle 5-11 So. 17.6

11 G Stanley Pringle 6-1 Sr. 13.2

2 F Jamelle Cornley 6-5 So. 14.9

15 F David Jackson 6-6 So. 4.1

22 F Andrew Jones 6-9 So. 5.4

Top reserves

10 G Chris Babb 6-5 Fr. 2.2

25 G Jeff Brooks 6-8 So. 3.5

33 G Danny Morrissey 6-3 Sr. 5.3

FACTS & FIGURES

Site: The Assembly Hall (16,618).

Radio: Brian Barnhart and Jerry Hester call the action on WDWS 1400-AM, WHMS 97.5-FM, WDAN 1490-AM, WDNL 102.1-FM and WPXN 104.9-FM.

TV: Big Ten Network. Wayne Larrivee is on play-by-play duties, Greg Kelser provides the expert analysis, and Mike Hall is the sideline reporter.

Series: Illinois leads 21-9. Penn State has won two straight at the Assembly Hall. Strangely, Illinois has the same record against Penn State in home games (9-4) as road games (9-4). As the Illinois coach, Bruce Weber is 6-3 against Penn State.

Coaches: Weber (149-52 in sixth season at Illinois, 252-106 in 11th season overall); Ed DeChellis (76-100 in sixth season at Penn State and 181-193 in 13th season overall).

STORYLINES

1

Lions' share

Illinois' 10-game homecourt winning streak is the longest in the Big Ten. Want to guess which league foe has the longest winning streak at the Assembly Hall? It's Penn State, which also is the only Big Ten opponent with a winning streak at the Assembly Hall. The Nittany Lions are 2-0 in their last two visits. "The last couple years, I think it's (about) matchups," said Bruce Weber, explaining Penn State's success against Illinois. The players cited by Weber as bad matchups for Illinois – former PSU standout Geary Claxton and current standout Jamelle Cornley – were bruising forwards that beat up the Illini in the paint. "We've won at Illinois in the past," PSU coach Ed DeChellis said. "So hopefully we'll go in there with some confidence (today)." The Illini have enjoyed three undefeated records in Big Ten home games since 1999 (8-0, 2004-05; 7-0, 2002-03; 8-0, 2000-01). Illinois currently is 6-0, with Penn State, Minnesota and Michigan State yet to visit the Assembly Hall.

2

Who's dancing?

With a postseason resume that includes several quality wins and no losses to bad teams, Illinois in all probability will return to the NCAA tournament for the ninth time in 10 years. To prevent a letdown, however, the UI coaches aren't ready to toss confetti. "We lose at home here and you're worried about even an NCAA bid," Weber said. "I understand that, I hope our guys understand that." Various mock brackets have Illinois pegged as a No. 5 seed (ESPN), No. 4 seed (CBS Sports) and No. 5 seed (CollegeRPI.com). Penn State was on the good side of the bubble until a recent three-game losing streak. "I don't think I want to put pressure on my guys by saying we have to win 'X' number of games out of 'X' number of games (to get in)," DeChellis said. Penn State already has a road win at Michigan State, so a win at Illinois might put the Nittany Lions on the inside track to their first NCAA bid since 2001. "I like Eddie. I wish him the best. I hope they get in," Weber said. "But right now we've got to worry about ourself."

3

Match 'em up

Predicting the leading scorer for Illinois is tougher than predicting which Illinois team will show up on the road. Illinois is the only Big Ten team with four players among the league's top 27 scorers, and eight players have led the team in scoring. But the key matchups in today's game are clear: Chester Frazier vs. Talor Battle and Mike Davis vs. Jamelle Cornley. Frazier should be the front-runner for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year; Battle leads the Big Ten in scoring. Battle recently was in a slump where he managed only 19 points over three games. "I think Talor's got his confidence back now," DeChellis said Monday after Battle had 19 points against Minnesota. You could make the argument Davis and Cornley are playing better right now than any other forwards in the Big Ten. Davis has three double-doubles in his last four games; Cornley, a senior, never has lost at the Assembly Hall. "He's really probably 6-4, 6-5, (but) he's wide," said Weber, who in practice Monday challenged Davis to "be a player" against Cornley.

PREDICTION

No. 18 Illinois 66, Penn State 56

The UI ticket office said Tuesday there were 1,400 tickets remaining for today's game. For those in attendance and cheering for the home team, here's a tip: root, root, root for the tall guy. Illinois is 10-0 (5-0 Big Ten) when Mike Tisdale leads the team in scoring. Another home win also would give Weber his 150th win as the coach at Illinois. And it probably would ensure the Illini of a Top 25 spot next week, regardless of Sunday's result at Ohio State. And it would improve the Illini's chances of a protected seed (Nos. 1-5) in the NCAA tournament. "Whether it's RPI or the ratings or quality wins or whatever you're looking at, those are things they're going to add up, maybe for a higher seed," Weber said. Not to mention what it would do for the N-G prediction record, which is downright salty these days. Our latest: Illinois secures its first four-game Big Ten winning streak since January 2006. (News-Gazette prediction record: 21-5)