, who have won four in a row and nine of their last 11. They are playing well at a critical time, with a road matchup against No. 16 Michigan State looming this weekend and the Big Ten tournament beginning Wednesday in Indianapolis.''Good resolve,'' Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said. ''We were really tough-minded. We've been a very tough-minded group these last five weeks. We'll see if that continues. Obviously there's no permanency to that.'' Ayo Dosunmu had 21 points and five assists to pace Illinois (20-10, 12-7), which saw its conference championship hopes fade a bit more after starting the day a half-game behind leaders Maryland, Wisconsin and Michigan State. Still, the Illini are poised for a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven years.Illinois led by as many as 11 in the first half and held a 37-30 lead at the break. The Buckeyes let fly with the 3-pointers in the opening frame but hit just one in seven tries.With Illinois went up by seven in the second half, Ohio State chipped away and Kaleb Wesson's fadeaway jumper tied the score at 51 with 9:30 left, part of an 11-2 run by the Buckeyes, who then built an eight-point lead.After Wesson picked up his fourth and fifth fouls in a 15-second span, Illinois got within five with a steal by Dosunmu and a coast-to-coast layup by Andres Feliz. But Liddell's shot in the paint and a couple of foul shots by Duane Washington Jr. gave the Buckeyes a 69-60 lead with 32 seconds remaining.BIG PICTUREIllinois: The Illini's second-half shooting was cold and 14 turnovers didn't help. They shot 35.7% in the second half after making more than half their shots in the first.''The ball didn't go in, and we gave up 16 offensive rebounds,'' Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. ''That was the game, plain and simple. We gave up 16 offensive rebounds - they got almost half their misses back. That hasn't happened to us all year and it was very out of character for us.'' Ohio State: Despite bad 3-point shooting (3 for 15) and foul trouble for star Kaleb Wesson, the Buckeyes found a way to rally as a tumultuous regular season winds down.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Buckeyes could move up slightly, but they're more concerned about tournament seeding at this point.BLAST FROM THE PASTOhio State honored the 1960 national championship team at halftime. Surviving members who showed up for the reunion included Jerry Lucas, Mel Nowell, Joe Roberts and Bob Knight. They also got a chance to talk to the current team.UP NEXTIllinois: Hosts Iowa in its regular-season finale on Sunday.Ohio State: Finishes the season on Sunday at Michigan State.---More college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/-Top25---Follow Mitch Stacy at https://twitter.com/mitchstacy)
Mar 04, 2020A good week for No. 23 Illinois potentially could become a great one with a victory at No. 19 Ohio State on Thursday.The Illini (20-9, 12-6 Big Ten) have a chance to share the conference title with wins against the Buckeyes (20-9, 10-8) in Columbus and in their home finale vs. No. 18 Iowa on Sunday.Maryland, Michigan State and Wisconsin also can finish at 14-6."We came here to win Big Ten championships," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. "We've talked a lot about that. We're not out of it yet, and we're in the last week of the season. I feel great about that, and I'm so happy for our fans." The Illini have a shot at their first regular season Big Ten title since 2004-05 and will finish above .500 in league play for the first time since 2009-10. They have the largest turnaround this season among the six major conferences, improving on last season's 12-21 record.With Illinois poised make its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012-13, the school announced Monday that Underwood agreed to a contract extension, adding three years to the original six he signed in 2017 when he took over the program."There's no place I'd rather be," he told the Illini Inquirer. "We got the most passionate fans. We've got the most intelligent fans. Recruiting's on a great tick. We've got an unbelievable staff. There are just so many things that are positives." Illinois rebounded from a four-game losing streak in February to win its past four games but faces a challenge in the surging Buckeyes.Ohio State was 2-6 in the Big Ten but has won three in row and eight of 10 while overcoming adversity.Guard D. J. Carton took a leave of absence to address mental health issues on Jan. 30 and has not rejoined the team. Starting forward Kyle Young has missed the past two games with an ankle sprain and his status for Thursday is unknown."Obviously, we need Kyle back," Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said. "We're not a better team without Kyle." The Buckeyes are coming off a 77-63 win over Michigan on Sunday in which they outscored the Wolverines 23-9 in the final seven minutes."We tell each other all the time that we're built for this and made for this," guard Duane Washington Jr. said. "This is why we came to Ohio State, for moments like this." The Buckeyes will play a big role in deciding the conference champion, as they play at No. 16 Michigan State on Sunday.But Ohio State is more concerned about being in top form heading into the tournament."I think we had to close ranks and find a way to try to come together and perform better and own why we were struggling and what we were doing to struggle," Holtmann said. "That goes back to the guys in the locker room, particularly our captains. They owned the fact we had to perform better." --Field Level Media
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