Illinois 75, Penn State 55: Rayvonte Rice led the way with 15 points and seven rebounds as the Fighting Illini knocked off the visiting Nittany Lions for their second straight win in Big Ten play.

Tracy Abrams added 12 points and a game-high five assists for Illinois (13-2, 2-0), which improved to 6-1 in its last seven games. Jon Ekey and Joseph Bertrand each contributed 11 points and eight rebounds for the Illini, who enjoyed a 44-33 edge on the glass.

John Johnson turned in a game-high 18 points for Penn State (9-6, 0-2), before fouling out late. Tim Frazier finished with 10 points as the only other Nittany Lion in double figures, as leading scorer D.J. Newbill was thrown out of the game in the second half after an altercation with Illinois' Kendrick Nunn.

The Fighting Illini built a 28-26 lead at halftime after an ugly opening 20 minutes for both sides. Rice led Illinois with 10 points and six rebounds by intermission as the Illini shot 29.6 percent from the field, while Frazier's eight points was a first-half high for Penn State, which connected on just 28.6 percent of its field-goal tries before halftime.

After the break, Illinois used a trio of 3-pointers -- two from Abrams and another from Ekey -- to spark a 16-6 run that established a 44-32 advantage. Newbill was assessed a flagrant 2 foul and ejected with 8:38 remaining after throwing a punch to the back of Nunn's head and the Nittany Lions would never threaten down the stretch.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Illinois improved to 26-13 all-time against Penn State and has won two in a row in the series. ... Newbill had seven points upon his early exit, snapping a streak of 29 straight games with 10 or more points. ... Johnson, a sophomore transfer from Pittsburgh, has scored 40 points in three games for the Nittany Lions since being declared eligible.