It's hard to decide who has more riding on tonight's game between Illinois and Penn State -- the Fighting Illini or Wings Over Happy Valley.

Illinois is trying to maintain its top national ranking, unblemished record and respect. And for Wings Over Happy Valley, 536 Westerly Parkway, an upset could cost the business approximately $10,000, owner Steve Morera said.

In tonight's contest between No. 1 Illinois (25-0, 11-0 Big Ten) and the Nittany Lions (7-16, 1-9), fans can exchange their ticket stubs for free wings -- if Penn State wins.

Now I know Penn State lost in Champaign, Ill., by 26 and I know the Lions have won just seven games this season, but this is history in the making, before the game even starts. Penn State will host the top-ranked college basketball team in the country for the first time since the Bryce Jordan Center opened in 1996.

There might actually be a packed Jordan Center as opposed to the 7,748 fans the Lions average per home game. More than 8,000 tickets have already been sold, leaving plenty of seats available in the 15,261 capacity building.

I assume any college basketball fan of the sort will flock to the Jordan Center to see the Illini, and maybe even cheer for Penn State in the meantime. But this is your chance, Penn State fans.

It's an opportunity to help the Nittwits, who faithfully attend, cheer and prep for every game. Against Ohio State, the student group even pissed off coach Thad Matta with their "Forty Minutes," a memo that pokes fun at the opponent. The Nittwits cleverly replaced every "c" with a cent sign and every "s" with a dollar sign throughout The Price is Right-themed newsletter, mocking the allegations levied against Ohio State athletics.

Hats off to the Nittwits; you do a great job, but 30 or so diehards aren't going to intimidate the Illini, who are used to playing in front of the Orange Krush, Illinois' student section.

Members of the Krush are hard core. They solicit donations for every 3-pointer the Illini make during the season just to earn a spot in the cheering section. By the way, Illinois leads the Big Ten in 3-pointers made. The Krush is no joke.

But all you have to do is hop on the Loop, put $5 toward a ticket instead of a Monkey Boy at the Saloon for just a night, and if you're feeling really crazy, wear white so you can participate in the White Out.

The White Out could actually work and the atmosphere could be something like that at a Division I basketball game. Oh yeah, and all those white towels that you see people waving at big-time basketball games on national television, consider it your lucky night, because every fan will get one of those, too.

This is your chance, Penn State fans, to be one of those screaming fanatics with your face painted blue-and-white on ESPN Plus. OK, that might be asking too much, but just give it a try. You might witness something crazy.

Penn State could hang with Illinois like it did in the opening seven minutes of the first meeting of the two teams. But, with your help and the rule of probability, there could be a different ending.

If probability fails the Lions like it has a tendency to do, at least you could experience seven minutes of what a big-time basketball arena feels like -- or, for that matter, what a big-time sports contest feels like. Seniors, we've been slighted with just one winning football season. We haven't experienced many history-making games, except Paterno's 324 and Larry Johnson breaking the 2,000-yard barrier.

"This is the first time the No. 1 team in the country is in our gym and we need this thing to be sold out," junior Aaron Johnson said. "We don't need no 10,000 people. We need everyone to come and support us and be as loud as we can. Please give us a chance and come and help us get this upset."

And if something really crazy like an upset happens and you were there, you can redeem your ticket stub for a "paper airplane" meal, which consists of seven wings, at Wings Over Happy Valley.