The #17 Ohio State Buckeyes (17-3, 6-3)
vs.
The #9 Illinois Fighting Illini (20-3, 6-3)
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Sunday, February 12 - 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
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ILLINOIS - Official Site of Illinois Athletics - It's been a little over eleven months since we handed the Illini their first loss of the 2004-2005 season. They went on, of course, to win another eight games in a row to reach the championship game. We went on to finish with twenty wins and a ticket home as a result of the self-imposed post-season ban. Despite losing two of their best players to the NBA, Illinois charged out of the gate this year to a 15-0 record before dropping a tough one on the road to Iowa (who haven't the Hawkeyes beaten at home?). But while the Illini have pretty much picked up where they left off from last year, this year's Buckeyes are significantly stronger than the '04-'05 version. Je'Kel Foster and Jamar Butler have taken to their starting roles like ducks to water, and have created stability and consistency in a backcourt that lacked it a year ago. Ron Lewis has provided an athleticism on offense that we didn't have then, and having four senior starters has been invaluable throughout the season. Illinois' line-up has gotten significantly bigger in the meantime, and consequently they play a little different style of basketball than the one that carried them so far in the 2005 tournament. This is the last of four Big Ten match-ups against teams we only see once, so we need to make it count. Hopefully we can take hold of the thorn we stuck into their collective side last year and twist it just a little deeper. Here are the Illini:vs.
The #9 Illinois Fighting Illini (20-3, 6-3)
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Sunday, February 12 - 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
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<p><img align=left src="http://www.buckeyeplanet.com/gallery/files/3/ILL_brown.jpg" border="1" Hspace="10" Vspace="0">Still one of the quickest, smartest and most athletic guards in the conference, senior point Dee Brown (6-0, 185) has become the team's primary scoring option, and is posting the best points per game average of his career (15.0). However, with the added responsibility has come added stress. His assist-to-turnover ratio is at a career low, and his shooting percentage has plummeted from a stellar .499 in '04-'05 to a very poor .374--clearly a product of having become a volume shooter. Needless to say, the player that was Consensus First Team All-American in 2005 seems to have left this team along with Deron Williams and Luther Head. All that notwithstanding, Brown is still a concern for our defense. To this point, we've done a good job of shutting down opposing guards, and we'll need Butler to play him better than he did in the previous game to keep that up.
<p><img align=left src="http://www.buckeyeplanet.com/gallery/files/3/ILL_augustine.jpg" border="1" Hspace="10" Vspace="0">Another familiar face from last year, senior forward James Augustine (6-10, 235) is having the best year of a very solid four year career. His scoring took a considerable jump, up from 10.1 to 13.3 ppg, and his 8.9 boards per game are good for tops on the team and third in the Big Ten. James, who played the five last we saw him, is now more of a four in a frontcourt that is one of the conference's tallest. He is, by far, the most offensively gifted post player on the roster (.614 FG%, 2nd in Big Ten), and will be a tough assignment for whoever draws him. EDIT: This turned out to be an interesting part of the game. I initially found it odd that Augustine would be defended by Sylvester, though I came to realize that this was probably done to protect Dials from foul trouble. Dials is not an exceptional defender, so I imagine the philosophy was to merely slow Augustine down and make the rest of the team beat us. Certainly seemed to have worked.
Augustine's frontcourt mates are a pair of very solid sophomores: #42 Brian Randle (6-8, 215) and #55 Shaun Pruitt (6-10, 240). Randle, who is a talented scorer, has been a pleasant surprise for the Illini. He's posting 8.3 points and 5.8 boards in 26.1 minutes per ball game. He's probably the most logical choice to square off against Sylvester, but Pruitt creates problems. The lanky sophomore went from warming the bench to starting every game, and has responded well. Still can't be sure, but my discussions with people have convinced me that Sullinger will probably start on Randle, with Syl on Pruitt, and we may see Harris get some increased burn to counter the size mismatch.
#33, junior guard Rich McBride (6-3, 205) is the prototypical college two guard, and fills out the starting five. He's a bit stockier than your average shooter, but what he gives you is scoring, and not much else. At .401, he's not a crack shot by any means, but he's the kind of guy (see Dion Harris) that can hurt you if you forget he's there. He'll be spelled heavily by #31, junior guard Jamar Smith (6-3, 175) who is far less consistent from the line (.923 versus .682), but has turned into Illinois' top outside threat. Smith is shooting 52% from behind the arc over 102 attempts--no. 1 in the Big Ten.
Winning the home games is crucial, everyone knows this. Beating a top ten caliber team at home is what could lift this team above the gridlock that is the Big Ten conference standings. I expect Augustine to have a big game. He's a better player than Courtney Sims, who absolutely manhandled us. Frontcourt defense has been our achilles heel all season long. That said, Sims' domination still didn't garner his team a 'W', even at home. What makes our squad so dangerous is the fact that we have half a dozen guys that, at any given time, can take a game over and carry us to victory. Sylvester posted his career high in last year's game (25 points), the final three of which made the game an instant classic. Whether it's Mr. Big Shot who steps up this time, or Je'Kel, or Ivan...that's anyone's guess. At the end of the day, all that matters is the final score. See you at the Schott.
Projected starters:
Ohio State
F - Matt Sylvester
F - J.J. Sullinger
F - Terence Dials
G - Je'Kel Foster
G - Jamar Butler
Illinois
F - Shaun Pruitt
F - Brian Randle
F - James Augustine
G - Rich McBride
G - Dee Brown
My prediction: OSU 70 - ILL 68
Up next, Wisconsin...
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