No. 13 Illinois Opens Big Ten Play With a Bang

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Behind dominant performances from David Mirkovic and a career-high 23 points from Keaton Wagler for Illinois, the Buckeyes simply couldn’t respond. The Buckeyes fall in Columbus, as No. 13 Illinois (8-2) defeats Ohio State (7-2) 88-to-80. 

Illini Kept Fighting! 

The Illini went 29-for-32 at the free throw line, while as a team recording 11 3-pointers. Illinois shot an impressive 44% from the field and 41% from the 3-point line. The Fighting Illini also outrebounded the Buckeyes, recording 37 rebounds to Ohio State’s only 30 rebounds. Illinois dominated, even as Ohio State scored a layup, bringing the lead to only 3 points, 79-76. However, a swift 3-point shot from Illinois’s Tomislav Ivisic with 44.7 seconds left put the game firmly out of reach for Ohio State.

“I’m proud of our guys, coming off a very emotional game, after a hard week of practice before the Tennessee game, and then having to be on the road there. Then having to turn right back around and come to Ohio State. Jake’s doing an incredible job. This team’s very efficient offensively. We had to withstand a really, really good player, having a half (Bruce Thornton).” Head coach of Illinois Men’s Basketball, Brad Underwood, said in a statement.

Underwood also emphasized his encouragement on the defensive side of the ball, saying to the media, “We spent a ton of time talking about Bruce and not letting him get going, and he got going. There wasn’t a whole lot we could do about it; some of those shots were very deep. But I thought Andrej Stojakovic’s job defensively maybe shocked his central nervous system a little bit. He just gave him a different look.” 

Buckeyes Looking for Answers

Ohio State was led by senior Bruce Thornton, scoring 34 points with 6 rebounds and 6 assists in 40 minutes of play. The Buckeyes actually shot better than Illinois from the field, shooting a solid 46%. However, the 3-point range is where Ohio State saw a drop-off. Ohio State only shot 32% from 3-point range. Devin Royal, Christoph Tilly, and John Mobley Jr. from Ohio State went a combined 2-for-16 from 3-point range. Not a winning formula for success, especially for an Ohio State team that has looked promising this season. 

Head coach of Ohio State Men’s Basketball, Jake Diebler, said after the game, “As far as we go, I thought there were some good tough stretches, and then there were some stretches where we didn’t play with the “poise,” that we needed to, and against a really good team, that’s how you come up short. I’m proud of the way we fought back multiple times. Rebounding was a really big focal point for us going into the game, and I thought for the most part, we battled really hard, and rebounding went pretty well for the majority of the game. Got to dissect this and learn from it.” 

Bruce Thornton spoke to the media, saying, “We just got to own up to our mistakes that we messed up on. We just got to own it. We didn’t rebound well. We turn the ball over at crucial times. We kept fouling and they made free throws, so it’s hard to win like that in a big environment, especially if you’re away from home. So I feel like we clean that up, understand the film earlier on Wednesday, and get back to work.”

Up-Next

No. 13 Illinois looks forward to continuing their hot streak, as a win next game would push them into a 3-game win streak! Their next game is on December 13th; the Illini play against No. 23 Nebraska in Champaign. Then the following week, the Fighting Illini will play Missouri in Champaign. Both games should be fantastic to watch! 

Ohio State looks towards rebounding their season after losses to both Pittsburgh and now Illinois. Their next game on December 13th sees the Buckeyes facing the West Virginia Mountaineers in a neutral-site match up in Cleveland, Ohio. Their next game the following week on December 20th sees the Buckeyes face their toughest battle of the season against the No. 14 North Carolina Tar Heels. These next few weeks will either make or break the shell on the Buckeyes’ season.