Buckeyes stumble down second-half stretch, fall on road at Illinois
COLUMBUS — Ohio State had plenty of opportunities to push its win streak to four — and notch another signature road win in Jake Diebler’s first season at the helm.
But Illinois, playing at home in the rowdy State Farm Center, wouldn’t go away. The Buckeyes had a double-digit lead early in the second half. They carried that lead into the under-eight timeout, as well. But the Illini were able to close and close the gap, eventually pouncing and taking the lead that it didn’t relinquish. An 18-2 second-half run certainly helped the home Illini.
Final score from Champagne: No. 18 Illinois 87, Ohio State 79.
Ohio State fell to 13-9 overall and 5-6 in the tough Big Ten conference slate.
The Buckeyes got a great 29-point performance from second-year forward Devin Royal and a 22-point day from star guard Bruce Thornton. Freshman sensation John Mobley Jr. chipped in 16 for the Buckeyes, but none of those performances proved to be enough to get Ohio State over the hump.
Now after three straight wins over Purdue on the road, Iowa at home and Penn State on the road, the Buckeyes are back in the loss column as they try building an NCAA Tournament resume in the final five weeks of the regular season.
Top 10
- 1Breaking
Chip Kelly
Leaving Ohio State for NFL
- 2New
AP Poll Projection
Big changes after chaotic week
- 3Hot
Top player in portal
Nebraska scores big transfer
- 4
Bracketology
No. 1-seed line sees change
- 5
Nation's No. 1 recruit
Cuts list to six schools
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
The Buckeyes will face Maryland — which beat Ohio State by 24 in College Park back in December — on Thursday in Columbus before hitting the road to face Nebraska on Feb. 9 and then getting a three-game home stretch against Washington, Michigan and Northwestern. Wins are there for the taking for this Ohio State team.
Win a few of those games, and the Buckeyes’ NCAA Tournament resume really begins to take shape. Drop those games after the three-game win streak and the understandable loss at Illinois, and the last few weeks of the season will be a tough stretch as Diebler pushes for a tournament berth in his first season as a head coach.
Ohio State remaining basketball schedule
Feb. 6 vs. Maryland
Feb. 9 at Nebraska
Feb. 12 vs. Washington
Feb. 16 vs. Michigan
Feb. 20 vs. Northwestern
Feb. 23 at UCLA
Feb. 26 at USC
March 4 vs. Nebraska
March 8 at Indiana
March 12-16 Big Ten Tournament (Indianapolis)
