Kern leads Penn State against No. 13 Illinois after 21-point game

Penn State Nittany Lions (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten) at Illinois Fighting Illini (11-3, 3-1 Big Ten)

Champaign, Illinois; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Penn State takes on No. 13 Illinois after Nick Kern scored 21 points in Penn State's 77-71 loss to the Indiana Hoosiers.

The Fighting Illini are 7-1 on their home court. Illinois is eighth in the Big Ten in team defense, giving up 67.2 points while holding opponents to 38.1% shooting.

The Nittany Lions are 2-2 in Big Ten play. Penn State scores 86.8 points and has outscored opponents by 18.3 points per game.

Illinois averages 10.7 made 3-pointers per game, 3.3 more made shots than the 7.4 per game Penn State gives up. Penn State has shot at a 50.1% rate from the field this season, 12.0 percentage points above the 38.1% shooting opponents of Illinois have averaged.

The Fighting Illini and Nittany Lions square off Wednesday for the first time in Big Ten play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kasparas Jakucionis is shooting 49.6% and averaging 16.4 points for the Fighting Illini.

Adrian Baldwin Jr. is scoring 14.8 points per game and averaging 2.9 rebounds for the Nittany Lions.

LAST 10 GAMES: Fighting Illini: 8-2, averaging 87.2 points, 41.2 rebounds, 15.0 assists, 5.2 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 46.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.2 points per game.

Nittany Lions: 7-3, averaging 81.1 points, 31.9 rebounds, 17.3 assists, 7.7 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 48.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.3 points.

------

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.