Penn State men’s basketball will face Illinois to open the 2023 Big Ten Tournament, the team announced Sunday night.

Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 9, at the United Center in Chicago. After upsetting a ranked-Maryland squad Sunday afternoon, the Nittany Lions received a first-round bye and will meet the Illini in the second round.

Penn State landed the No. 10 seed in the tournament, and Illinois secured the No. 7 seed. The winner of the matchup will face No. 2 Northwestern at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, March 10.

While Illinois is 3-0 against Penn State historically in the Big Ten Tournament, the Nittany Lions are 2-0 against the Illini this season and picked up statement wins in December and February. In the teams’ first meeting of the season, Penn State captured its first of two top-25 wins and topped the 17th-ranked Illinois squad 74-59 on December 10 in Champaign. Just over two months later, Micah Shrewsberry’s lineup remained victorious and walked away with a 93-81 win at home on February 14.

Last season, the No. 11-seeded Nittany Lions beat Minnesota in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament and upset Ohio State for a spot in the quarterfinals. Purdue ultimately ended Penn State’s run in a close 67-61 season finale of Shrewsberry’s first year in Happy Valley.