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Daily Herald:

“Maybe now wouldn’t be the right time to reveal this, not with Illinois still undefeated and still seeking the Big Ten title.

“Aw, what the heck.

“The real reason the top-ranked Illini have kept themselves on track for an historic season happens to be … Luther Head’s hair.

If Head’s tightly curled locks look longer each time Illinois plays, there’s a good reason for that.

“‘Deron (Williams) and Dee (Brown) won’t let me cut my hair,’ Head said. ‘They say it’s some kind of good-luck charm, so I’ve got to keep it.’

“Today’s visit to last-place Penn State (7 p.m., Channel 23) probably won’t be the game that allows Head to visit the barber. …”

Northwest Herald – Online:

“The temptation for top-ranked Illinois, now five basketball games away from finishing off a perfect regular season, is to look into the distance instead of at the struggling opponents on this week’s schedule.

“The Fighting Illini (25-0 overall, 11-0 Big Ten) defeated Penn State — tonight’s opponent at the Bryce Jordan Center — by 26 points a month ago in Champaign in a game that was not even that close. …”

No mention of Penn State in the story, but some nice words about target Jermaine Taylor, a 6-5 shooting guard:

OrlandoSentinel.com: Sports:

“In the first 5:13 of the third quarter, Tavares outran the Hurricanes 16-2, with [Jermaine] Taylor igniting the charge.

“He jammed home a one-handed dunk at 4:21.

“He swished a 3-pointer from the left corner with 3:31 left.

“He ripped another 3-pointer from the right corner with 2:47 left.

“Boom — Tavares had a 45-25 lead and the lights went out on Mount Dora.

“Taylor finished with 22 points and Kelvin Burnett also got into double figures with 13.

“‘Jermaine and Kelvin can fill it up pretty quickly,’ said Tavares Coach Jack Clark. ‘When you have the best player in the state [Taylor], you want him to take charge of the game.’ …”

Geary Claxton Update (PDF)

Aaron Johnson Update (PDF)

Losing mindset still Lions’ biggest test:

“Before the season started, sophomore guard Marlon Smith said that in order to be a winner, you have to first be a loser.

“Three months later, an inactive Smith watches from the bench as his Nittany Lions teammates continue to experience more than their fair share of losing — and winning has yet to follow.

“‘I don’t think there’s anything in the locker room in terms of guys who’ve been successful to say, ‘This is how it was,’ so our kids just have to believe,’ Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. ‘It’s just not easy to believe you can win when you haven’t won.’ …”

AP Wire | 02/14/2005 | Penn State is next challenge for No. 1 Illinois:

“CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – When No. 1 Illinois was preparing to host Big Ten cellar-dweller Penn State at the Assembly Hall last month, coach Bruce Weber told his team that if they didn’t beat the Nittany Lions by 30, they weren’t playing up to their potential.

“Weber will make no such challenges when the Illini travel Wednesday to face Penn State at the Bryce Jordan Center. On the road, margins of victory don’t matter.

“For the only time this season, the Illini (25-0 overall, 11-0 Big Ten) will play back-to-back league road games. They face off with rival Iowa on Saturday….”

Uh-oh … laughs at the BJC:

“The product might not be any better this year than the previous three at the Bryce Jordan Center. But at least the student fans are manufacturing some fun on their own.

“The Nittwits, a group of hopeful and resolute Penn State men’s basketball fans, have succeeded in raising the volume produced by PSU’s paltry crowds.

“And they’re also probably putting together the best advance previews of games (I blame myself). The Nittwits’ double-sided leaflet, passed out to its fans before tipoff, is called ‘Forty Minutes.’ It is written mostly by Jared Smith, a senior meteorology major from Columbus, Ohio; with help from sophomore Rob Ziegler. It is hilarious. …”

Lions fail to find redemption again:

“Saturday night’s game against Ohio State at the Bryce Jordan Center was a perfect opportunity for redemption.

“Redemption for the Penn State men’s basketball team after a dramatic six-point loss to the Buckeyes (17-8, 6-5 Big Ten) in Columbus more than three weeks ago.

“Redemption for the waxing by Wisconsin at home, for the recent spanking by Purdue last Wednesday.

“Instead, it was another Penn State loss and another disappointment in the Nittany Lions’ somber season. The Lions (7-16, 1-9 Big Ten) dropped their sixth-straight contest with a 66-56 loss to the Buckeyes. …”

Losses weigh on weary Lions, coach:

“STATE COLLEGE – It wasn’t so much what Ed DeChellis said after his team’s latest loss as much as how he looked saying it. And afterward.

“This Penn State season is getting on everyone’s nerves. And when your team spends a game finding every way imaginable to permit an open three against an opponent that shoots more threes than anyone in the league, well, you get chapped.

“After a series of purposely bland answers in the post-game conference, DeChellis whacked the table with the stat sheet as he got up and trudged off. It’s not like him in public. He’s usually measured and controlled.

“But he’s tired. His team is tired. And they aren’t winning games that are out there for the taking.

“The losing mentality DeChellis so fears and despises has very clearly set in with the Nittany Lions. And it was evident in a 66-56 loss to Ohio State (17-8, 6-5). …”

Centre Daily Times | 02/13/2005 | Ohio State shoots down Penn State:

“UNIVERSITY PARK — To prepare for Saturday’s game at Penn State, Ohio State men’s basketball coach Thad Matta looked back to his team’s last visit to the Bryce Jordan Center.

“‘We got supposedly ran out of here last year by 17 points,’ said Matta, who was coaching at Xavier at the time. ‘And it was interesting listening to the guys tell me why.’

“The Buckeyes lost 64-47 to the Nittany Lions last Jan. 10, going 0-of-13 from 3-point range in the process.

“‘They said they weren’t ready to play,’ Matta said, ‘and Penn State just came in and knocked them down, and there was no retaliation.’

“Ohio State had retaliation in stores Saturday, not to mention ample long-distance shooting, in a 66-56 win. The Buckeyes (17-8, 6-5 Big Ten) hit 11-of-27 3-pointers, three straight during a late 9-2 spurt as they handed the Nittany Lions (7-16, 1-9) their fifth straight loss….”