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Ohio State can’t hold off Illinois, falling 77-74 in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal
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Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
The Buckeyes gave Illinois everything they could handle on Friday night.
The Ohio State men’s basketball team (20-13, 9-11) lost to the Illinois Fighting Illini (25-8, 14-6) 77-74 in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
The No. 10 seed Buckeyes started the Big Ten Tournament off with a bang, defeating the No. 7 seed Iowa Hawkeyes 90-78 on Thursday night. The Buckeyes never trailed in the contest, taking a single-digit lead into the halftime break but increasing their lead to as much as 16 and winning by 12.
Ohio State entered this contest with five straight wins and 6-1 under interim head coach Jake Diebler, who took over the program after head coach Chris Holtmann was fired on February 14. The Buckeyes have seen their defense sharply improve since Diebler took over, as well as deeper utilization of the bench.
Jamison Battle got the scoring going against Illinois hitting the first jumper of the game 1:18 into the night. Battle scored 23 points in the first-round game against Iowa, with all 23 coming in the second half. He didn’t wait that long in this one. Bruce Thornton recorded the next five points for Ohio State, and they jumped out to a quick 7-4 lead. Roddy Gayle recorded the next bucket for the Buckeyes, so the three top scorers for Ohio State all got on the stat sheet early on.
After some back-and-forth offense, Illinois led 16-15 by the under-12 media timeout. Illinois jumped out to a 25-18 lead after some untimely Ohio State fouls and missed shots by the Buckeyes, but an 11-6 run to end the half for Ohio State cut the Illinois lead to only two at 31-29 at the halftime break.
Thornton led the Buckeyes with seven first-half points, while Gayle and Battle added six points each in the first half. The Buckeyes committed eleven fouls and recorded nine turnovers in the opening 20 minutes, which forced Diebler to roll with some different combinations. Devin Royal and Mahaffey each picked up two first-half fouls, while Battle and Thornton each had two. Battle sat the final eight-plus minutes of the first half after picking up his second.
Terrance Shannon led Illinois with 14 first-half points on 6-of-13 shooting. Marcus Domask, Shannon’s right-hand man in scoring for Illinois, had zero first-half points on 0-for-6 shooting. Both Shannon and Domask were named All-Big Ten First Team on Tuesday afternoon.
To start the second half, Ohio State went on a speedy 8-0 run to take a 37-31 lead. A tip-in from Ty Rodgers on a Marcus Domask missed three-pointer gave Illinois its first points of the second half, with Ohio State leading 37-33.
Domask recorded his first points of the game at 16:24 after making a three-pointer. He missed his first eight field goal attempts of the game. An Okpara foul on a driving Justin Harmon sent Illinois to the line, down 38-36 with 15:31 left in the game. Harmon knocked down both, tying it up at 38 and erasing the Buckeyes’ six-point lead.
The Buckeyes then went on a 14-6 run, with seven points from Bruce Thornton and five points from Scotty Middleton, to take a 52-44 lead at the under-12 timeout. Middleton was invisible in the first half but stepped up and knocked down two big shots to give the Buckeyes the lead.
Terrance Shannon Jr. finally got going in the second half for the Illini, recording five quick points and cutting the Buckeye lead to just three. Illinois got another bucket from Dain Dainja to make it 57-56, but a fourth foul on Shannon forced him to go to the bench with 9:04 remaining in the game, but he came back in less than three minutes later.
Illinois tied the game at 59, capping off a 13-3 run in three minutes to put them back in the game. The Buckeyes answered with a quick 6-2 run of their own and led 65-61 with just over five minutes left in the game. Jamison Battle’s put-back off his own miss made it 69-66 with 3:35 remaining.
The Buckeyes and Illini continued to trade baskets back and forth, with Illinois tying the game up at 71 and Felix Okpara and Evan Mahaffey both fouling out with 2:26 left.
Jamison Battle knocked down a three-pointer to give the Buckeyes a 74-71 lead, but two Shannon free throws cut the lead to one. Coleman Hawkins got a block on the other end and made two free throws to give Illinois a one-point lead.
Shannon missed a three-pointer with 11 seconds left, but an offensive rebound by Coleman Hawkins gave the Illinois free throws. He would make both, and Ohio State took a timeout down 77-74.
Jamison Battle missed a three at the end of the game, and Ohio State fell 77-74.
Here are some takeaways from the Buckeyes loss to Illinois
One of the things that makes Illinois so tough to beat is the one-two punch that is Terrence Shannon Jr. and Marcus Domask, two first-team all-conference selections. Shannon had 14 points in the first half to lead all scorers, but Domask was 0-for-6 from the field, recording no points.
Domask recorded his first points with 16:24 left in the second half after missing his first eight field goal attempts. He would finish with seven points.
One key to winning this one for the Buckeyes is limiting Illinois in transition. The Illini like to get out and push the pace, and score on the run. The Buckeyes made it harder on themselves in the first half by committing nine turnovers but found a way to hold the Illini to just 31 first-half points.
They committed just two second-half turnovers.
The Buckeyes trailed at the half 31-29, but that deficit did not last long. Ohio State started the second half on an 8-0 run in the opening two minutes to take a 37-31 lead and help the Buckeyes not have to chase all second half, with how good Illinois is on offense.
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justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
The Buckeyes gave Illinois everything they could handle on Friday night.
The Ohio State men’s basketball team (20-13, 9-11) lost to the Illinois Fighting Illini (25-8, 14-6) 77-74 in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
The No. 10 seed Buckeyes started the Big Ten Tournament off with a bang, defeating the No. 7 seed Iowa Hawkeyes 90-78 on Thursday night. The Buckeyes never trailed in the contest, taking a single-digit lead into the halftime break but increasing their lead to as much as 16 and winning by 12.
Ohio State entered this contest with five straight wins and 6-1 under interim head coach Jake Diebler, who took over the program after head coach Chris Holtmann was fired on February 14. The Buckeyes have seen their defense sharply improve since Diebler took over, as well as deeper utilization of the bench.
Jamison Battle got the scoring going against Illinois hitting the first jumper of the game 1:18 into the night. Battle scored 23 points in the first-round game against Iowa, with all 23 coming in the second half. He didn’t wait that long in this one. Bruce Thornton recorded the next five points for Ohio State, and they jumped out to a quick 7-4 lead. Roddy Gayle recorded the next bucket for the Buckeyes, so the three top scorers for Ohio State all got on the stat sheet early on.
After some back-and-forth offense, Illinois led 16-15 by the under-12 media timeout. Illinois jumped out to a 25-18 lead after some untimely Ohio State fouls and missed shots by the Buckeyes, but an 11-6 run to end the half for Ohio State cut the Illinois lead to only two at 31-29 at the halftime break.
Thornton led the Buckeyes with seven first-half points, while Gayle and Battle added six points each in the first half. The Buckeyes committed eleven fouls and recorded nine turnovers in the opening 20 minutes, which forced Diebler to roll with some different combinations. Devin Royal and Mahaffey each picked up two first-half fouls, while Battle and Thornton each had two. Battle sat the final eight-plus minutes of the first half after picking up his second.
Terrance Shannon led Illinois with 14 first-half points on 6-of-13 shooting. Marcus Domask, Shannon’s right-hand man in scoring for Illinois, had zero first-half points on 0-for-6 shooting. Both Shannon and Domask were named All-Big Ten First Team on Tuesday afternoon.
To start the second half, Ohio State went on a speedy 8-0 run to take a 37-31 lead. A tip-in from Ty Rodgers on a Marcus Domask missed three-pointer gave Illinois its first points of the second half, with Ohio State leading 37-33.
Domask recorded his first points of the game at 16:24 after making a three-pointer. He missed his first eight field goal attempts of the game. An Okpara foul on a driving Justin Harmon sent Illinois to the line, down 38-36 with 15:31 left in the game. Harmon knocked down both, tying it up at 38 and erasing the Buckeyes’ six-point lead.
The Buckeyes then went on a 14-6 run, with seven points from Bruce Thornton and five points from Scotty Middleton, to take a 52-44 lead at the under-12 timeout. Middleton was invisible in the first half but stepped up and knocked down two big shots to give the Buckeyes the lead.
Terrance Shannon Jr. finally got going in the second half for the Illini, recording five quick points and cutting the Buckeye lead to just three. Illinois got another bucket from Dain Dainja to make it 57-56, but a fourth foul on Shannon forced him to go to the bench with 9:04 remaining in the game, but he came back in less than three minutes later.
Illinois tied the game at 59, capping off a 13-3 run in three minutes to put them back in the game. The Buckeyes answered with a quick 6-2 run of their own and led 65-61 with just over five minutes left in the game. Jamison Battle’s put-back off his own miss made it 69-66 with 3:35 remaining.
The Buckeyes and Illini continued to trade baskets back and forth, with Illinois tying the game up at 71 and Felix Okpara and Evan Mahaffey both fouling out with 2:26 left.
Jamison Battle knocked down a three-pointer to give the Buckeyes a 74-71 lead, but two Shannon free throws cut the lead to one. Coleman Hawkins got a block on the other end and made two free throws to give Illinois a one-point lead.
Shannon missed a three-pointer with 11 seconds left, but an offensive rebound by Coleman Hawkins gave the Illinois free throws. He would make both, and Ohio State took a timeout down 77-74.
Jamison Battle missed a three at the end of the game, and Ohio State fell 77-74.
Here are some takeaways from the Buckeyes loss to Illinois
Limiting the dynamic duo
One of the things that makes Illinois so tough to beat is the one-two punch that is Terrence Shannon Jr. and Marcus Domask, two first-team all-conference selections. Shannon had 14 points in the first half to lead all scorers, but Domask was 0-for-6 from the field, recording no points.
Domask recorded his first points with 16:24 left in the second half after missing his first eight field goal attempts. He would finish with seven points.
Taking care of the ball
One key to winning this one for the Buckeyes is limiting Illinois in transition. The Illini like to get out and push the pace, and score on the run. The Buckeyes made it harder on themselves in the first half by committing nine turnovers but found a way to hold the Illini to just 31 first-half points.
They committed just two second-half turnovers.
Fast start to the second half
The Buckeyes trailed at the half 31-29, but that deficit did not last long. Ohio State started the second half on an 8-0 run in the opening two minutes to take a 37-31 lead and help the Buckeyes not have to chase all second half, with how good Illinois is on offense.
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