Ohio State vs. Illinois: College basketball preview, prediction, TV schedule
In one of the more lopsided games of the weekend on paper, the elite Ohio State Buckeyes host the Illinois Fighting Illini.
TV Schedule: Sunday, February 4, 12:00 p.m. ET, FS1
Location: Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
College basketball is largely taking the day off on Sunday to celebrate the Super Bowl. Fans can probably take this game off too, unless they want to see a blowout.
A day after a competition between one of the Big Ten’s best (Purdue) and worst (Rutgers), a similar scenario will unfold between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Illinois Fighting Illini.
The Buckeyes have just one loss during Big Ten play, which came via a miracle for the Penn State Nittany Lions. Otherwise, Ohio State has rolled through conference play unblemished, soaring to the No. 17 ranking in the country.
As a result, Chris Holtmann has entered the Coach of the Year race, while Ohio State has become a serious contender to win the conference.
They’ll go as far as star Keita Bates-Diop is able to take them. The forward is averaging 19.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game this season.
The Fighting Illini, on the other hand, will go as far as the Big Ten Tournament. Illinois is on a two-game winning streak, their first two wins in conference play this year. A close win over Indiana was followed by a massive blowout of Rutgers.
Maybe the Fighting Illini are hitting their stride at the right time?
Don’t count on it. Illinois remains competitive in a majority of their conference games, but struggle to close the deal. Outside of Leron Black and Trent Frazier, nobody on the roster even averages ten points per game. In his first year as coach, Brad Underwood is simply hoping to avoid embarrassments and build his program.
He may have to suffer through the former on Sunday.
Prediction: Ohio State 77, Illinois 60