If the Penn State men's basketball team could forget one road trip, it would be the one the Nittany Lions are on right now.

Penn State (11-5, 2-4 Big Ten) was embarrassed on Saturday when No. 10 Illinois dominated every facet of the game in a 92-60 rout of the ailing Lions.

But Penn State couldn't expect to keep the game close, as the team shot 4-for-25 in the first half and couldn't control the Fighting Illini's big men, even though Illinois' top post player, 6-foot-9 senior Marcus Griffin, played only a few minutes because of an injured tailbone.

Penn State men's basketball coach Jerry Dunn said his team's poor shooting put them in the big hole that they couldn't dig out of in the first half.

"It's awfully tough, especially on the road, when you don't convert," the sixth-year coach told the Penn State Sports Radio Network. "We've been humiliated the last two times out. We need to do some soul searching."

Lions senior guard Joe Crispin continued to struggle as the Preseason First Team All-Big Ten selection was held scoreless in the first half on 0-for-6 shooting, but the entire team couldn't find the basket in the opening minutes.

Penn State's first field goal didn't come until the 12:05 mark when redshirt freshman Ndu Egekeze rebounded a missed lay-up and then dunked it home.

The second half was more of the same, except the Lions starting hitting their perimeter attempts, however, their sloppy defense couldn't stop any Illini players as Illinois (15-4, 5-1 Big Ten) continued to stretch the lead past the 20-point mark.

"I don't think anyone was clicking on any kinds of cylinders," Penn State reserve guard Brandon Watkins said. "On offense, it seemed like we did a lot of standing."

Watkins, who is from the Chicago area, said he was humiliated with the showing of the Lions in his own backyard.

"I'm kind of embarrassed by coming to my home state and getting beat like this," the sophomore said. "It kind of hurts me because I know we're better than that."

Illini forward Sergio McClain had one of his best games of the season, as the senior scored 15 points to lead all scorers and chipped in with seven rebounds while teammate Cory Bradford stretched his 3-point streak to 82 games as he contributed with 13.

As well as the Illini shot the ball in the last 30 minutes of the game, Penn State did the opposite. The Lions only made four shots in the first half and finished the game shooting a miserable 27 percent from the field. Joe and Jon Crispin led the Lions, combining for 24 points, as Jon was 4-for-6 from the field.

Penn State stays on the road as the Lions now take a quick break from conference play as they travel to Yale tomorrow night and then to Wisconsin on Saturday for a Big Ten conference showdown.