No. 3 Illinois Hosts Penn in NCAA Tournament Rematch

Illinois welcomes Penn to the State Farm Center in Champaign for a rematch of last season’s NCAA Tournament first-round game. Illinois won that matchup 105-70 and went on to reach the Final Four. The Illini enter Thursday’s game ranked No. 3 after a 120-45 season-opening victory over Fairleigh Dickinson, in which Stefan Vaaks scored 20 points. Illinois made a program-record 19 three-pointers and set a school record for its margin of victory.

Penn finished 18-12 last season, won the Ivy League Tournament and earned an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 2018. The Quakers bring back seven of their nine leading scorers and were projected to top the Ivy League’s preseason rankings. TJ Power, who averaged 16.4 points and 7.6 rebounds, is among their leading players. Michael Zanoni averaged 11.8 points and scored 20 against Illinois in March.

Penn averaged 75.9 points per game last season and made 38.2% of its three-point attempts. Illinois will look to use its size inside: in the teams’ previous meeting, the Illini outrebounded Penn 48-25, while David Mirkovic had 29 points and 17 rebounds. Penn allowed 74.4 points per game last season.

Illinois was 14-3 at home last season; Penn went 4-8 on the road. The scheduled tipoff is 8:30 p.m. EST. Illinois is favored by 30.5 points, with the over-under set at 168.5.