Chris Holtmann criticizes Illinois fans for unacceptable behavior

The Ohio State Buckeyes prevailed on Thursday in a hard-fought game against No. 15 Illinois, 86-83. The Buckeyes won the pivotal Big Ten matchup in front of a raucous Fighting Illini home crowd. After the game, Buckeyes head coach Chris Holtmann criticized the Illinois fans for their behavior during the hotly contested matchup.

“Well I thought first of all, the environment was…the fans were obviously highly engaged. I didn’t love what some of the things they were saying to our players to be honest with you. I thought that was, I thought that was completely uncalled for. Completely uncalled for. I’m always gonna feel like that. I just don’t think there’s a place for it. Having said that, they were highly engaged. Highly…involved. And they stayed engaged the whole game. It made for a very difficult, difficult finish. Give them credit for the environment they created because it spurred their team. They’ve got obviously a very passionate fan base here. It was a tough finish,” Holtmann said.

It’s tough to pin down what exactly Holtmann is talking about when he was criticizing the Illinois fans, but E.J. Liddell wrote a lengthy message addressing the Fighting Illini fans on his Twitter page on Friday. College basketball fans are passionate and rowdy. Look no further than the North Carolina student section send-off of Coach K. Some things are going to be said that opposing players and coaches will not like. That’s the reality of big-time college athletics.

Feelings and emotions will run high when a big-time prospect from a state spurns the state school for a bitter conference rival. The best way a team or player can silence an opposing crowd is by winning the game.

The Illinois squad gave everything Ohio State they could handle and more down the stretch. Buckeyes’ freshman Malaki Branham could be playing his way into being a first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. He erupted on Thursday night for 31 points, connecting on 10-of-14 shots. He also nailed his only three-point attempt.

Illinois trailed Ohio State by double digits with less than seven minutes remaining, but then their head coach Brad Underwood got ejected after receiving his second technical foul. Ironically enough, after the ejection, Illinois outscored Ohio State 25-16 for the rest of the game. The Fighting Illini fought back to within one in the final minute before the Buckeyes would win 86-83.