It seems only fitting on a day when the NHL canceled its season that the No. 1 men's basketball team in the country reminded Penn State coach Ed DeChellis of his first hockey game.

"[Illinois is] a very, very fast team," DeChellis said. "For me it's like going to my first hockey game. I never appreciated the speed of the puck and the speed of the skaters until I saw hockey in person for the first time. And I kind of equate it with what we saw tonight."

Fans at a packed Bryce Jordan Center watched one of college basketball's best teams at its finest last night as No. 1 Illinois (26-0, 12-0 Big Ten) easily put away Penn State (7-17, 1-9), 83-63.

The Fighting Illini's quickness could be seen from all ends of the floor as the Nittany Lions were clearly no match for the nation's only undefeated team.

"They're at a different level than the other teams in the Big Ten; they're a lot faster," Penn State freshman guard Mike Walker said. "They push the ball up the court like no other team that we play. ... They're so unselfish, they have you on your heels the whole game."

Illinois came out firing from the start, hitting a remarkable 67 percent of its shots in the first half and taking a 52-30 lead at halftime. Seniors Luther Head and Roger Powell Jr. combined for 29 first-half points, one less than the entire Nittany Lion squad.

"The first half they spread the ball, they shared the ball," DeChellis said. "They can score anyway they want to."

The Nittany Lions tried to mix up their defensive schemes early in an attempt to confuse Illinois but had little success. The Illini constantly found holes by using backdoor cuts and often had easy scoring opportunities.

"We just tried to guard them, unfortunately they were knocking down their shots and they had a lot of wide open shots and layups," Penn State forward Geary Claxton said.

The second half would be no easier for the Lions as Dee Brown continued his success in Happy Valley with several clutch 3-pointers. Last year Brown terrorized the Lions with six 3-pointers and 24 total points in a road win.

"He sure came with a good attitude tonight and played with a lot of energy," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. "He played so hard that he took himself out two different times in the game. ... He must like this place because he sure played well here last year, and topped it off with 19 [points] and 11 [assists] for a double double."

Despite the losing effort, a reported attendance of nearly 11,000 fans jammed the Jordan Center, many wearing white shirts in an attempted "white out" by the Penn State faithful.

"The support was amazing tonight," Walker said. "The fans came out and supported us so well. It's so great that they're still out there, even with the season we're having. That just says a lot about the people here."