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Penn State bounces back with upset at Illinois, 74-59

nate-mug-10.12.14by:Nate Bauer•12/10/22•

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CHAMPAIGN, IL - DECEMBER 10: Andrew Funk #10 of the Penn State Nittany Lions shoots the ball against Matthew Mayer #24 of the Illinois Fighting Illini at State Farm Center on December 10, 2022 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

Penn State had gone cold shooting in back-to-back games. First, a double-overtime loss at Clemson, then hosting Michigan State at the Bryce Jordan Center, the Nittany Lions couldn’t connect on their signature 3-pointers.

Saturday, that changed dramatically.

Hitting 12-of-24 shots from deep, Penn State notched a 74-59 win at No. 17 Illinois. The win marked Micah Shrewsberry‘s first win against a top 20 team on the road. It also improved the Nittany Lions to 7-3 on the 2022 season, including a 1-1 split in the appetizer of Big Ten play.

To get there, Penn State was led by big contributions from Andrew Funk and Jalen Pickett, each of whom dropped 20 points. Along with a 3-point barrage from Myles Dread, who hit five for the game, the Nittany Lions built a 9-point halftime advantage and kept it in place as the Illini fought back throughout the second half.

For Funk, the performance was a rebound from an uncharacteristically silent performance against Michigan State that drew both encouragement and a motivational push from Shrewsberry.

“People are still worried about him. You still gotta guard him, still gotta be out there, still got to worry about how you’re guarding him, which puts focus on him and takes away from other guys,” Shrewsberry said. “We’ll keep doing it. He’ll be better. He’ll be better for us. We got to get better defensively, we got to be better as a team, we got to be tougher, we gotta be more gritty. Or, this situation is gonna happen a lot.”

It didn’t Saturday as a 19-14 advantage early for the Illini was erased by Penn State’s fight. First evening the score at 30-30, the Nittany Lions produced a 47-38 halftime advantage.

Despite a push by the Illini to make it a 52-47 game out of the break, Penn State responded in kind with a run of its own. Roaring to a 14-0 stretch led by both Dread and Funk 3-pointers, the Nittany Lions built a lead by as many as 14 points, eventually stretching it to 18 in the final four minutes.

Penn State returns to action when it faces Canisius next Sunday at the BJC.

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