Ohio State will play Illinois for the third time this season and the second time in eight days in Sunday's Big Ten Tournament final.
After Ohio State punched its ticket to the Big Ten Tournament final with a 68-67 win over Michigan on Saturday afternoon, Illinois did the same in the second semifinal with a 82-71 win over Iowa.
The Buckeyes and Illini played twice during the regular season, with each team winning on the other's home court.
Ohio State won 87-81 in the first matchup between the two teams on Jan. 16. E.J. Liddell led Ohio State with 26 points while the Buckeyes made 53.7% of their shots from the field in that game.
The second matchup between the two teams came just last weekend in the regular season finale for both teams. The Buckeyes held a 68-64 lead with 3:48 to play but did not score for the remainder of the March 6 game, leading to a 73-68 loss. Illinois guards Ayo Dosunmu and Andre Curbelo led the Illini to victory with 19 points each, while Liddell led the Buckeyes with 19 points in defeat.
Illinois, a projected No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, enters Sunday's game on a six-game winning streak. The Illini have a 22-6 record this season, while Ohio State is 21-8.
Sunday's game is set for a 3:30 p.m. tip-off at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and will be televised on CBS.
