UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State used its home-court advantage to remain competitive with No. 1-ranked and undefeated Illinois last night -- well, at least for the first 20 seconds of the game.

That's about how long it took the Illini to score their first basket and about how long it took the 10,966 gathered at the Bryce Jordan Center to realize this one was going to be ugly for the home team.

The Illini scored on 15 of their first 19 possessions and led by as many as 24 points in the first half in an 83-63 Big Ten Conference victory. Illinois continued its quest to become the first team to finish the regular season unbeaten since UNLV in 1991.

Saint Joseph's is not officially recognized in the NCAA records from last year because it lost in the Atlantic 10 tournament. The NCAA lists only teams which began the NCAA tournament undefeated.

One thing that was easy to recognize last night was that although Penn State (7-17, 1-10) and Illinois (26-0, 12-0) are members of the Big Ten, the Lions are not in the same league as the Illini.

But then again, not many teams out there are.

"They have no kinks in their armor," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "They can do anything they want out there, they can beat you anyway they choose to. Every one can score, every one can shoot, every one can defend -- they can get up and down, they can play half court -- I really haven't been around a team that has so many weapons both offensively and defensively.

"It is hard to simulate their speed in practice -- we had no answers for them."

The victory was Illinois' 26th in a row, marking the longest winning streak in school history. Illinois shot 54 percent from the field, including 66.7 percent in the first half, registered 27 assists to only 8 turnovers, made 11 steals and had four players reach double figures.

Illinois sprinted to a 7-0 lead thanks to the lightning-quick hands and feet of its trio of guards -- Dee Brown, Deron Williams and Luther Head. Brown, who plays the point, pushed the ball up the court at every opportunity and the Illini converted three consecutive fast breaks into points -- two uncontested layups and a 3-pointer by Brown.

Penn State clawed its way back to 9-7 after a put-back by Aaron Johnson at the 16:18 mark, but the Illini shifted in high gear once again and used its transition game to make a 13-4 run and took a 22-11 lead with 12:13 to play on a fastbreak layup by Roger Powell Jr., who led all scorers with 21.

The Lions cut the deficit to 25-16 a few minutes later, but the Illini again kicked it up a notch and made a 13-3 run to take a 38-19 lead at the 7:41 mark and end most doubt about the game's outcome.

Illinois led, 52-30, at the half and the second half had the feel of an exhibition game or scrimmage as the Illini quickly extended their lead to 30 points before putting it into cruise control.

Penn State forward Geary Claxton, who led the Nittany Lions with 19 points, drew the loudest applause of the game with two dunks, one an impressive tomahawk off a fastbreak and the second off an alley-oop pass from Mike Walker. Unfortunately for Penn State, dunks are worth only two points and the Lions at that point trailed by 30.

Still, the two-play sequence was enough to bring the Nittany Lions faithful to their feet and they began to blurt out chants of "overrated."

Walker, however, would beg to differ with the fans' assessment of the Illini.

"I think they might actually be better [than advertised]," Walker said. "That's a great team."