Once again, the Illini struggled against the Penn State Nittany Lions. It was a pretty good game through the first half, though. Illinois had the lead over Penn State 14-11 just 10 minutes into the game. That lead would grow to seven points, but Penn State would make a comeback.
The Nittany Lions were able to grab the lead away from the Illini 26-25 with 3:32 left in the first half. They got their lead up to four points, but the Illini came back with a 5-0 run by Ayo Dosunmu. Illinois would take a 32-31 lead into the halftime locker room.