The No. 6 seed Illinois Fighting Illini.
Illinois barely held off Penn State 66-60 tonight in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago. The Hoosiers will now have to face an Illinois squad that has won 17 straight games in the United Center and accumulated a 30-6 record all-time in the arena.
Illini guard Chester Frazier turned in the top performance of the night with a career-high 21 points on 5-of-9 three-point shooting, while big man Warren Carter tallied 19 points. Rich McBride, who has posed problems for the Hoosiers in the past, scored just three points with a 1-for-9 shooting tab from beyond the arc.
The Hoosiers and Fighting Illini split their two regular season matchups this season with each team winning on its home floor. Back on Jan. 23, the Hoosiers tallied their lowest point total of the season at Assembly Hall in Champaign, falling to the Illini 51-43. But IU rebounded less than three weeks later with a 65-61 win. The Hoosiers seem to have an NCAA Tournament bid already secured, but the Illini will be playing for one of their own - IU will have to keep that in mind tomorrow night.
Lastly, for all of the Nittany Lions fans out there: Penn State's Mike Walker nailed a tournament record seven 3-pointers in the contest en route to 22 points. You officially have something to celebrate...he's only a junior.
Anyway, stay tuned to the Basketblog throughout the weekend for updates from the Big Ten Tournament. We'll see you tomorrow night.
