CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 13 Illinois earned its fifth-consecutive victory and its fourth-straight Big Ten triumph with a 91-52 win over Penn State on Wednesday night at State Farm Center.
Three Fighting Illini scorers finished with at least 20 points in the commanding 39-point home win.
Ben Humrichous registered a season-high 21 points after connecting on five 3-pointers in the first half. In addition to his first 20-point effort of the campaign, Humrichous also added nine rebounds, a block, and a steal.
Morez Johnson Jr. secured his second double-double of the season, posting a career-best 20 points along with 11 rebounds. Shooting an efficient 9-for-11 from the field, Johnson also tallied a block while grabbing four offensive boards.
Finishing in double figures for the third-consecutive game, Tre White logged 20 points, including 12 points in the first half. Totaling 20 points in two of the last three games, White amassed seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
Will Riley, in his first-career start, recorded seven points, six rebounds, a career-high six assists, one block, and one steal.
Kylan Boswell accumulated five points, five rebounds, six assists, and three steals, while Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn added nine points off the bench.
The visitors jumped out to an early six-point lead, but the Orange and Blue responded with a 15-0 run over the next five minutes to go in front for the first time. Four Illini registered points during that stretch, including eight from White and four from Johnson.
After Penn State ended its five-minute scoreless drought, Humrichous knocked down 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to send Illinois' advantage into double digits for the first time, 26-13, with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half.
The Nittany Lions made their first field goal in nearly eight minutes, but the home side went on another lengthy scoring run, this time a 13-0 stretch, to bring their lead up to 24. Humrichous made his fifth 3-pointer of the opening half and Johnson posted four points during that time.
Leading by as many as 26 through the first period of play, the Illini went into halftime with a 45-21 edge. Humrichous recorded a game-high 19 points and White also reached double figures in scoring with 12 points in the first half.
Johnson moved into double figures less than three minutes into the second half, and a 15-4 Illini run extended the hosts' lead to 34 with 12:44 left. Five Illini made a field goal throughout that stretch to give the home side a 64-30 advantage.
An 8-0 Penn State run reduced the away team's deficit to 26, but treys from and Gibbs-Lawhorn and Jake Davis returned the Illini's lead back to the 30-point mark with eight-and-a-half minutes left to play.
The Orange and Blue continued to add to its advantage late in the contest, leading by as many as 39 in the dominant home victory.
Improving to 4-1 in conference play, No. 13 Illinois hosts USC on Saturday in the teams' first meeting as Big Ten foes, with the game set for 11 a.m. CT on Big Ten Network. Tickets are still available for the clash between the Fighting Illini and the Trojans, which can be found at FightingIllini.com.
HIGHLIGHTS
PRESS CONFERENCE
POSTGAME NOTES
Player Notes:
- Ben Humrichous scored a season-high 21 points to go along with nine rebounds, a block and a steal.
- First 20-point performance of the season.
- Scored in double figures for the sixth time this season.
- Recorded 19 points and 8 rebounds in the first half, eclipsing his season-best totals set last week in road wins at then-No. 9 Oregon (18 points) and Washington (6 rebounds).
- Went 5-for-9 from beyond the arc tonight, matching a career high in 3-point makes.
- Has at least one 3-pointer in all 15 games this season and has knocked down multiple triples in eight contests.
- Tre White scored 20 points while adding seven rebounds, two assists and a steal.
- Recorded his third 20-point game of the season and his second such performance in his last three games…all three 20-point games have come during Big Ten play.
- Scored in double figures for the third-straight game and for the eighth time overall this season.
- Has grabbed at least seven rebounds in three-straight games.
- Morez Johnson Jr. scored 20 points to go along with 11 rebounds and a block.
- Recorded the second double-double of his career.
- Scored a career-high 20 points.
- Scored in double figures for the third time this season and for the first time since Dec. 29 vs. Chicago State.
- Averaging 15.5 points over his last two games at State Farm Center after scoring a then-career-most 11 in the team's last home game vs. CSU.
- Shot 9-for-11 (.818) from the field, the team's top single-game shooting performance of the season (min. 6 attempts)
- Secured double-digit rebounds for the third time this season.
- Has recorded at least one block in three of his last four games.
- Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn came off the bench to score nine points and grab two rebounds.
- Has scored at least eight points in four-straight games, all coming off of the bench.
- Will Riley scored seven points while adding six rebounds, six assists, one block and a steal.
- Made his first-career start.
- Dished out a career-high six assists.
- First game of the season recording a block and a steal in the same contest.
Team Notes:
- Starting lineup: Kylan Boswell, Ben Humrichous, Tomislav Ivisic, Will Riley, Tre White
- Illinois recorded its second Big Ten win of the season by at least 30 points.
- The rest of the conference combined has two such wins.
- Overall, Illinois has seven wins by at least 30 points this season.
- The 39-point margin of victory is the second-largest in the series with Penn State.
- Tonight's win was Brad Underwood's 155th in his Illini career. He ranks fourth on the program's all-time coaching wins list.
- Illinois improves to 73-32 (.695) in the Big Ten since 2019-20, the best mark in the conference over that span.
- The Illini improved to 8-1 at State Farm Center this season, including a 2-0 mark in Big Ten play.
- Tonight marked the third time since at least 2010-11 that three Illini scored at least 20 points in the same game.
- After falling behind 11-5 with 14:29 remaining in the first half, Illinois ended the half on an extended 40-10 run to take a 45-21 lead into halftime.
- The Illini began that stretch with a 15-0 run over a 3:20 span, forcing the Nittany Lions into 0-for-6 from the floor and into two turnovers.
- Illinois held Penn State without a field goal for a stretch of 7:56.
- The Illini then put together a 13-0 run over a 1:49 span.
- The Illini out-rebounded the Nittany Lions 57-32, the fifth-straight game the Orange and Blue have won the battle on the boards.
- Illinois has out-rebounded its last three opponents by at least +12 and have also possessed a double-digit rebounding margin in 10 games this season.
- The Illini held a 19-6 advantage on the offensive glass, scoring 18 second chance points.
- Illinois recorded a season-most 77 field goals attempts en route to the 91-point performance, the team's seventh game of the season with at least 90 points.
- Illinois knocked down at least 10 3-pointers for the 10th time this season.
- The Illini bench outscored their Nittany Lions counterparts 34-16.
- The +18 margin is a season-high in Big Ten play.
- Illinois outscored Penn State 42-36 in the paint.
- Fourth-straight game the Illini have outscored its opponent in the paint, extending their season-long streak.
