Penn State and Illinois Conspire to Avoid Playing Any Offense

Is there some by-law in the Big Ten charter I am unaware of, that demands at least one incredibly inept offensive game between conference teams each year? Last year Michigan State and Iowa did their part by combining for 79 points. This year, Penn State and Illinois successfully topped that by combining for a dismal 71 points as Penn State came away with a 38-33 win.

The win actually keeps Penn State's chances to make an argument to be in the running for an at-large bid with a record of 8-6 in the conference and 19-8 overall. The problem is that they played a completely pathetic non-con schedule and went 0-2 against the Atlantic 10. So even with excellent wins at Michigan State, at Illinois, Purdue and Minnesota; the Nittany Lions find themselves with an RPI in the high 60s.
There is probably no way to truly explain how awful this game was, short of some Clockwork Orange torture session to make you watch. So, just the lowlights.

Penn State had the same number of made shots (13) as they did turnovers.

Illinois also had the same number of made shots (15) as turnovers.

The two teams combined to shoot 28-for-96 (29.17 percent).

Illinois shot zero free throws for the entire game.

The halftime score was 17-15 Penn State.

With Penn State taking a 17-13 lead with 3:14 left in the first half, the Lions did not score until 2:54 into the second half (6:08 scoreless minutes). In that span, Illinois only managed to take a two-point lead.

Illinois built what seemed like -- for this game -- an insurmountable 29-20 lead with 10:21 left in the game. The Illini could only manage four points the rest of the game.