Brandon Taylor grabbed the final rebound and held it for a second before the buzzer sounded.
The senior forward let it bounce as his teammate Josh Reaves embraced him, and he went off to center court to celebrate the win.
After two overtime periods, Penn State (16-15, 7-11 Big Ten) knocked off Illinois (13-18, 5-13 Big Ten), 86-79, in its final home game of the season. The seventh conference win marked the highest total of coach Patrick Chambers' career at Penn State, and it clinched a first-round bye in this week's Big Ten tournament for the first time in program history.