MEN’S BASKETBALL
OSU could take big step by beating Illinois again
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The upset win over undefeated and top-ranked Illinois last year was tangible proof to the Ohio State men’s basketball team that it could play with anybody.
The Buckeyes want another win over the Fighting Illini today to prove to everyone else that they deserve to be mentioned in the same breath with Illinois and the other marquee programs in the Big Ten, that they are not the afterthought in the national consciousness that at least one player perceives them to be.
"A lot of times when (media) talk about the Big Ten, they kind of leave Ohio State out," guard Je’Kel Foster said yesterday. "This would be a good message to let everybody know Ohio State is for real."
Fresh off a rare road win over a ranked team Thursday night at Michigan, the No. 19 Buckeyes (17-3, 6-3) will try to further authenticate their credentials when they play host to No. 10 Illinois (20-3, 6-3) in Value City Arena. To the winner goes sole possession of second place in the Big Ten, a game behind Iowa in the win column but even with the Hawkeyes in losses.
Illinois is not the same team that reached the NCAA championship game last season, but with seniors Dee Brown and James Augustine still around, the encore hasn’t been shabby. Relying more on their defense to make a difference, the Illini won their first 15 games and have been ranked in the top 10 the past nine weeks. They are the highest-ranked team the Buckeyes have faced.
"They know who their (main) guys are," OSU coach Thad Matta said, "and the role players on this team do a tremendous job. That’s what makes them good."
Ohio State had lost five consecutive games to Illinois before beating the Illini 65-64 on March 6, 2005, on Matt Sylvester’s threepoint basket with 5.1 seconds left.
It was by far the highlight of a season in which the Buckeyes had played for nothing but pride after the university banned them from the postseason as penance for alleged NCAA violations committed by the previous coaching staff. Until that game, the Buckeyes hadn’t done anything to distinguish themselves other than a mid-December win in Dallas over a Texas Tech team that would reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
"I think it helped our guys . . . (to) trust in what we were doing," Matta said. I think it kind of validated everything we had done up to that point with this team.
"When you come in to take over a new program, as we did, you’re asking your guys to have belief. But they have no evidence. (They are) looking for the evidence that, ‘This will work for us.’ I think beating Illinois the last home game of the year kind of put a stamp on it that we can accomplish some things."
J.J. Sullinger said the win "will forever go down as bringing Ohio State back to where it was."
Sylvester said it gave the players confidence coming into this season that they could play with anyone. But he said they weren’t lacking for much confidence in the first place because they believed they were better than a year ago.
"We knew if we could do something like that last year and had a better team this year, why can’t we play with anybody in the country?" Sylvester said. "I think that was our mentality, and still is."
The Buckeyes’ three losses have come by a total of 10 points at Indiana, at Iowa and at home to Michigan State in double overtime. In each game, for various reasons, they were unable to make winning plays in the closing minutes. But their 94-85 win at Michigan on Thursday might signal that they are progressing in that respect. They outscored the Wolverines 24-12 in the final 8:31.
"I think we had better composure than we’d had down the stretch" of other close games, Matta said.
Today could be another test of that.
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