Big Ten basketball is less interesting than looking at the big toe on my left foot

Penn State played Illinois last night. Big game. Bubble implications for State, conference title hopes on the line for the Illini. The Nittany Lions won 38-33.

38-33. Say it together, everyone: Thirty eight to thirty three.

The Nittany Lions won a game by scoring 38 points. That taste in the back of your throat? Probably a squirt of puke.

Brief recap of this game: Penn State jumped out to a big halftime lead, 17-15. But Illinois, behind Chester Frazier and Trent Meacham's seven points, took a commanding 31-24 lead with 6:17 left. In normal basketball terms, that'd translate to like a 46 point advantage. You're up by seven with six minutes, Illinois. Clear the bench!

But Taylor Battle, ugh, battled Penn State to victory by fueling a 14-2 run that probably spanned 17 minutes. Battle led all scorers with 11 points and should earn Big-10 Player of the Week consideration after his masterful performance.

Other tidbits:

-Illinois did not attempt a free throw
-Penn State erupted for 21 points in the second half
-Penn State shot 28% for the game. And won.
-The caption of that photo would tell you that Penn State's Andrew Jones is fighting for a rebound. Could be. But he most likely just missed a shot, got the rebound, and then missed the put-back.
-The teams combined for 38+33 points. That's 71. Washington scored 103 in a win over Oregon last Saturday. The Ducks scored 59 in the second half of that game.
-Forward Andrew Ott logged 12 minutes

Thanks, Penn State and Illinois, for making us realize the significance of the big toe on our left foot. 38-33. That's disgusting.