Oh for three.

Illinois couldn’t beat Penn State in Champaign, couldn’t beat the Nittany Lions in State College and — going one-and-done in the Big Ten tournament for the second straight year — couldn’t beat them Thursday at the United Center.

Not Purdue. Not Michigan State. This is Penn State we’re talking about — in basketball, no less.

What a dissatisfying season it has been for the Illini (20-12), who, after losing 79-76, will head to the NCAA Tournament without having established any sort of rhythm or an offensive identity, at least not a positive one.

And they clearly were no match for the Nittany Lions (20-12), who needed a “W” in the worst way as they arrived in Chicago very much on the NCAA bubble. Instead of an Illinois-Northwestern rubber match Friday at 5:30 p.m., we’ll see PSU take a swing at the Wildcats with a spot in the semifinals on the line.

Will it be one more game and done for Brad Underwood’s team? It would be utterly unsurprising. The Illini likely will receive a No. 8 or 9 seed from the selection committee and will take the floor in the Big Dance with absolutely no mojo working.