No. 6 Ohio State (12-2) at Illinois (12-4) 2:0 pm EST
CHAMPAIGN, Illinois (Ticker) -- Two days before Ohio State plays
for college football's national championship, its basketball
team takes center stage.
The sixth-ranked Buckeyes go for their seventh victory in eight
games and first at Illinois in nearly eight years in Saturday's
Big Ten Conference matchup.
Averaging 81.4 points, Ohio State has won all 10 home games and
lost at North Carolina on November 29 and at Florida on December
23 in battles against ranked opponents.
The Buckeyes have lost 10 of the last 11 road matchups against
the Fighting Illini. The lone win was on January 30, 1999.
Freshman Greg Oden scored a career-high 21 points, Othello
Hunter added 14 and Mike Conley Jr. collected 10 assists for
Ohio State, which won its conference opener in Tuesday's 74-67
victory over Indiana.
After losses against Maryland and Arizona, Illinois won five in
a row in December before back-to-back defeats to Xavier and
Michigan.
Jamar Smith scored 17 points, Warren Carter added 14 and Chester
Frazier 11 for the Fighting Illini, who shot 38 percent
(20-of-53) from the floor in Wednesday's 71-61 loss to the
Wolverines in their Big Ten opener.
Illinois has won 51 of its last 55 conference home games and is
101-5 at Assembly Hall since the start of the 1999-2000
campaign.