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First Look at Illinois Basketball's Game 14 Opponent: Penn State Nittany Lions

The Illini will ring in the new year with a trip to Philadelphia to take on Penn State in one of the nation's most unique venues
Pranav Hegde|
Dec 29, 2025; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions guard Dominick Stewart (7) is congratulated by teammates after being fouled during the second half against the North Carolina Central Eagles at Bryce Jordan Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images
Dec 29, 2025; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions guard Dominick Stewart (7) is congratulated by teammates after being fouled during the second half against the North Carolina Central Eagles at Bryce Jordan Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

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Illinois Fighting IlliniPenn State Nittany Lions

Illinois (10-3, 1-1 Big Ten) enters the heart of Big Ten play with momentum and a clear opportunity in front of it. After a strong showing through their non-conference slate, the Illini now fully immerse themselves in league action, with a 1–1 Big Ten record after a win over Ohio State and a narrow loss to Nebraska. With January officially here, the margin for error tightens, but it's a spot where Illinois should feel confident.

That confidence comes in part from the opponent. Penn State (9-4, 0-2 Big Ten) enters this matchup as one of the Big Ten’s fringe squads, still searching for consistency and answers on both ends of the floor. While conference road games are never automatic, this is a game Illinois should handily control if it plays to its standard.

The setting, however, adds intrigue. The game will be played in Philadelphia, at the legendary Palestra, one of college basketball’s most iconic venues. The building carries history, atmosphere and plenty of quirks, even if the opponent doesn’t carry the same weight. For Illinois, the task is simple: block out the nostalgia and avoid letting a struggling Penn State team hang around longer than it should as Big Ten play ramps up.

Penn State at a glance

The Nittany Lions are led by third-year head coach Mike Rhoades, who so far has found that rebuilding in State College is less a sprint and more a hike through Happy Valley with no cell service. Some of the slow traction is inherent to the job – this is, after all, a football school where basketball enthusiasm tends to spike only when the pep band accidentally wanders into the arena. Still, Rhoades is a proven coach, having reached the NCAA Tournament three times at Virginia Commonwealth, and he’s doing his best to drag Penn State basketball into relevance, even swinging for the fences in pursuit of a top target in the 2026 recruiting class.

The problem? This program is still a few seasons away from making real noise. Picked to finish dead last in the Big Ten preseason poll, Penn State has done little to fight the allegations, getting steamrolled by Indiana (41 points) and Pitt (36 points) in games that were over before halftime. The Nittany Lions' near-upset of Michigan State – a four-point loss they largely controlled – stands out as the outlier, the basketball equivalent of acing a pop quiz after skipping every lecture.

The Nittany Lions on the court

Key players

The headliner for Penn State is freshman guard Kayden Mingo, the younger brother of top-five high school prospect Dylan Mingo. And unlike many freshmen still figuring out which locker is theirs, Kayden has been thrown directly into the deep end. He’s an explosive athlete who can score at all three levels, and Rhoades has essentially handed him the keys to the offense and told him, “Good luck.” So far, Mingo has handled it well, averaging 14.8 points and 4.5 assists while learning on the fly how unforgiving Big Ten defenses can be. The efficiency comes and goes (as it does with most freshmen), but the talent and impact are unmistakable.

Mingo isn’t alone in Penn State’s youth movement. He’s joined by fellow freshman guard Melih Tunca, a big-bodied European guard who plays with patience, reads the floor well and makes the right reads. Tunca’s jump shot is smooth and still developing, but the mechanics are there, and as his confidence grows, he’s the type of player who can quietly punish teams for losing him off the ball. Inside, freshman big man Ivan Juric handles the thankless work. He sets solid screens, boxes out relentlessly, posts when needed and generally does all the things that don’t show up in highlight reels but make coaches smile during film sessions.

Individually, none of these freshmen are ready to carry a team through the Big Ten grind just yet. Together, though, they form a legitimate foundation. It may not help Penn State much in the present, but it does give the Nittany Lions something they have often lacked: a young core that actually looks like it belongs at this level – even if the growing pains are still very real right now.

Offense

A large chunk of Penn State’s offense flows through Mingo, whether that means putting him in pick-and-roll, running him off off-ball screens or simply clearing out and letting him try to make something happen. That level of responsibility is a compliment – and a gamble. Because the Nittany Lions lean so heavily on a freshman, their offense tends to swing wildly based on which version of Mingo shows up that night. When he’s comfortable and attacking, things look functional. When he’s sped up or bottled up, the whole thing grinds to a halt.

That volatility showed up in full against Pitt, when Mingo struggled and Penn State followed suit with a painful 46-point team performance. Compounding the issue is a fairly loose offensive structure. The Nittany Lions don’t run a deep menu of sets and are perfectly content to let threes fly, even though they don’t make them at a particularly threatening rate. It’s an approach that can occasionally steal a game when shots fall, but more often it turns into long, empty possessions.

Defense

On the defensive end, Penn State keeps things fairly simple, playing almost exclusively man-to-man while trying to grow into something respectable. The learning curve has been steep, and a big reason for that was the graduation of Ace Baldwin, last season’s elite point-of-attack defender. Baldwin could blow up actions before they even started, and that kind of presence can't just be replaced – especially with a roster full of freshmen still figuring out Big Ten spacing and physicality.

To their credit, the young Nittany Lions have shown signs of life. Penn State put together a solid three-game defensive stretch heading into the new year, flashing better ball pressure, improved communication and at least a working understanding of where they’re supposed to be. The effort has been there, and the foundation is forming. The problem is consistency. Relying so heavily on underclassmen means defensive lapses are inevitable, and this unit still struggles to string together stops once things speed up.

Illinois vs. Penn State matchup

There are no freebies in Big Ten play – especially on the road – but a trip to face Penn State doesn’t exactly strike fear into opposing locker rooms. Still, this is the type of game that matters if Illinois truly want to be taken seriously as an upper-echelon team in the league. The Illini have the talent edge, the offensive firepower and the depth to separate themselves early, and doing so should be the clear objective.

Letting Penn State hang around is where things can get uncomfortable. Big Ten games have a habit of turning strange in hostile environments, and the Nittany Lions have quietly won four of the past five meetings between the two programs – a stat that feels made up until it’s double-checked. If this game stays close into the second half, the crowd grows louder, confidence builds and the script can flip quickly.

For Illinois, the mission is straightforward: impose its will early, avoid unnecessary drama and treat this as the type of must-win game that it is. This is an opportunity for the Illini to make a statement, secure a valuable road win and remind the league that while January often invites chaos, this matchup doesn’t need to.

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Pranav Hegde
PRANAV HEGDE

Primarily covers Illinois football, basketball and golf, with an emphasis on news, analysis and features. Hegde, an electrical engineering student at Illinois with an affinity for sports writing, has been writing for On SI since April 2025. He can be followed and reached on Instagram @pranavhegde__.

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