CHICAGO -- Last night's first round loss in the Big Ten tournament didn't have the same points-in-the-paint flavor as the Penn State men's basketball team's first loss to Illinois. But, as usual this season, it still struggled defending the perimeter.

The Nittany Lions' zone was packed in tight, set to stop an Illini frontcourt which torched them for 36 inside points on Feb. 24. Also, the defense shaded a bit more toward Illinois' Rich McBride, who led his team in three-point attempts.

It seemed like a winning mix. But then came an unexpected, yet all-too-familiar twist in this season's losing recipe. McBride only connected on one shot from beyond the arc, but sophomore Chester Frazier, who averaged less than one make per game from three, hit five to contribute a team-high 21 points.

"We scout guys all season long. They do one thing; they come out and play big and, obviously, [Frazier] stepped up," guard Mike Walker said, after hitting seven three-pointers for Penn State. "He's a player in the Big Ten ... he's going to step up and hit big shots, and that was the difference."

Close score or not, each loss this season was normally chockfull of three-point shots from one player. Rattle off names such as Indiana's Roderick Wilmont and A.J. Ratliff, Iowa's Adam Haluska, and images of treys immediately come to mind.

It's a theme that has turned a season rich in expectations into a disappointment. Fans in the stands screamed, "You have to play man, Coach," toward Penn State head coach Ed DeChellis after watching yet another game lost to seemingly one player's uncharacteristically sensational effort.

Opponents know the drill. Illinois shot 10-of-28 from beyond the arc last night, becoming the sixth conference opponent to register double-digit makes on three-point shots. Both Ohio State and Iowa connected on nine threes during the regular season.

"Sometimes you've got to roll the dice," DeChellis said. "We thought if we tried to take their post away as best we could and keep them off the glass that they couldn't make threes all night, and tonight they did. That's the sign of a good basketball team."

Before the game, Illinois head coach Bruce Weber said he told a radio station that he was looking for forward Brian Randle to have a good game, but also, "I hope Chester makes some shots."

Frazier did, but the sophomore wasn't overly elated. He noticed that Penn State was shading McBride, and there weren't too many things to think about after that.

"I'm not so good from deep," Frazier said. "I made some open shots -- not a big deal -- just made some shots."

But this phenomenon, the cold shooter who suddenly enflamed in the presence of the Lions, wouldn't go away for forward Jamelle Cornley. He thought back to a game at Michigan on Jan. 17, when players like Wolverine forward Ron Coleman, who also averaged less than one three per game coming into the contest, hit three first-half treys.

The season ended with the same taste in Penn State's mouth -- bitterness.

"There is always somebody, if he wasn't a shooter, he was a shooter against us," Cornley said. "That's just how the year's been. It's not really a surprise here today."