NCAA Basketball: Mock 2020 NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen predictions
6) Penn State Nittany Lions vs 7) Illinois Fighting Illini
Danny Priest
This Penn State-Illinois matchup is a great example of program’s reinventing themselves and working hard to get back into relevance. At the beginning of the year, picking these two Big 10 programs to be squaring off in a Sweet 16 matchup would have felt like the longest of long shots. Now, it’s here and Illinois is led by Ayo Dosunmu and a tough defense, while Penn State is guided by Lamar Stevens and one of the better offenses in the nation. When these two teams met previously this season, Illinois picked up a 62-56 true road victory over the Nittany Lions.
This time around, I like the fighting Illini once again. Kofi Cockburn should be able to control the inside with relative ease against and undersized Penn State group, and Dosunmu can guard the best player for Penn State while also filling up the scoring column on the end. One way or another, one of these very successful teams is going to see a season that exceeded expectations come to an end, my guess is it’s the Nittany Lions.
Illinois 68, Penn State 60
Jason Kinander
In a rare inter-conference Sweet Sixteen matchup between the two biggest surprises in the Big 10, the Illini and Nittany Lions will battle it out. The Illini upset a top-10 ranked Penn State team earlier in the season on the road, but Penn State has looked better as of late, and the play of Lamar Stevens and Mike Watkins will determine this game’s outcome. The stage is certainly set for a big game out of Illinois point guard Ayo Dosunmu, but in a game that features no NCAA tournament experience, the star power and upperclassmen leadership of Penn State will lead them to a win.
Penn State 71, Illinois 62
Dave Mullen
It’s revenge time, again. Penn State is coming off its highest ranking since 1995-96, and possibly most successful season in program history. Despite that, Penn State lost to Illinois in mid-February by six points. The Nittany Lions and star Lamar Stevens (17.6 points per game, 6.9 rebounds per game) are ready to revenge their late-season loss. Penn State will have to stop guard Ayo Dosunmu (16.6 points per game) and 7-foot freshman center Kofi Cockburn. Cockburn is a menace in the middle of the paint, pulling down almost nine rebounds per game. Penn State’s athleticism and need for revenge will overtake the length of Cockburn.