Ohio State vs Illinois: 2018-19 College Basketball game preview, TV schedule

BOISE, ID - MARCH 17: Head coach Chris Holtmann of the Ohio State Buckeyes reacts during the first half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Taco Bell Arena on March 17, 2018 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Can Ohio State stay hot and move to 8-1 against the pesky Fighting Illini of Illinois? In order to avoid the upset, the Buckeyes will need all-around contributions from everyone.

TV Schedule: Wednesday, December 5th, 7:00 p.m. ET. Big Ten Network
Arena: United Center in Chicago, Illinois

As most people expected, this game between the Buckeyes and Fighting Illini will be the most talked about thing in Columbus this week…okay maybe not. However, even though this game will not take over the headlines of Urban Meyer retiring, it is still sure to be fun match up of Ohio State and Illinois as we move through the early part of Big Ten conference play

Ohio State steps into this game 7-1 and 1-0 in conference play thus far. They have a sole loss to Syracuse and have already secured solid wins against Cincinnati, Creighton and Minnesota. Illinois comes into this one struggling at 2-6 and 0-1 in conference play. The record looks bad but they were competitive in games against Gonzaga, Georgetown and Notre Dame and lost their only Big Ten game on the road against a very good Nebraska team. They are led in scoring by Trent Frazier with 14.7 ppg and 3.4 apg. Freshman Ayo Dosunmu is leading the team in rebounds with 4.9 rpg.

The Buckeyes are led by Sophomore Kaleb Wesson who is leading the team in points (14.5 ppg) and rebounds (6.1 rpg). They are working out some different rotations after the injury to productive freshman Luther Muhammad, who was averaging 8.9 ppg with 27.9 mpg.

If Ohio State wants to be successful they need more production from their guards, in particular CJ Jackson. Jackson is averaging 13.3 ppg which is good for second on the team, but he is shooting just 39 percent from the field and 35 percent from three. He is capable of shooting the ball much better then that and they will need him come January when conference play really kicks off.

For Illinois (2-6), they will need their defense to be better. They are only averaging one less point than Ohio State on the year, but they are allowing exactly 17 points per game more at 77.1.

Next. Predicting when the last unbeatens lose. dark

Ohio State is only averaging 60.1 which is one of the best marks in the nation. They will need to get some key stops on Ohio State and keep them in the 65-75 range in points. Once they get into the high 70s or 80s, the Illini will just be chasing them the entire time.

Prediction: Ohio State 80, Illinois 68

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