Senior Luther Head led the Illinois (17-0, 3-0) shooting clinic, hitting 12-of-22 from the floor and 5-of-10 from behind the arc. Penn State's zone defense was unable to generate any pressure on the Illini, who broke a school record by shooting 15-of-33 on 3-pointers.
"Our zone was a little better, we just couldn't block out anybody," DeChellis said. "They're just bigger and stronger than we are."
A number of streaks were extended after the contest. Illinois is off to its best start in 16 years with 17 straight wins. One more victory would break a school record established in 1988-89, when Illinois advanced to the NCAA Final Four. With the win, the Illini also became the 15th men's basketball program in the country to reach 1,500 wins.
"I think they're very, very good," DeChellis said. "They've got all the pieces. They're really athletic on the perimeter, they can really shoot it."
On the other end of the spectrum, the Lions' conference road-losing streak is now at 26 games.
Both teams were sloppy early, but Penn State kept up with Illinois to tie the score at 12.
"I thought we came out of the gates with some energy and emotion and I thought we played pretty well the first 8 minutes," DeChellis said.
It was then that the Illini took charge, going on a 16-0 run to take a 28-12 lead. They never looked back, taking a 41-25 advantage into halftime.
The Lions showed some energy in the second half, going 15-of-26 from the floor. Penn State was led by freshman Geary Claxton, who had 18 points on the night.
"I thought Geary Claxton was aggressive with the basketball." DeChellis said.
Three other Penn State players were in double figures, as Aaron Johnson and Ben Luber had 11 points each and junior college transfer Travis Parker chipped in 10.
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