By now, there is no denying that Ohio State's run is no longer a flash in the pan. To quote Urban Meyer, "It's real."
The Buckeyes have won games every possible way this year. They have won ugly and they have blown some of the best teams in the conference out of the water. However, Ohio State's most common way of winning games, especially in conference play, has been coming back from first-half deficits.
Chris Holtmann's squad trailed by 20 to Michigan on Dec. 4 before eventually winning by nine. Against Maryland and Nebraska, the Buckeyes trailed by seven in the opening minutes before pulling games out in the second half. On Sunday afternoon, Ohio State saw Big Ten bottom-dweller Illinois open up a 15-point advantage before Keita Bates-Diop and the Buckeyes willed themselves to a 75-67 win over the Illini to pick up their 20th win of the season.
Following a game in which he dropped a career-high 35 points, Bates-Diop said Ohio State hasn't panicked this season when it gets down early because of the veteran leadership in the Buckeye locker room.
"I think it's an experience thing with me, (Jae'Sean Tate), (Andrew) Dakich and a lot of older guys who have seen teams come from down from 20 and (also) been a team that has been come back on after being 20 up," Bates-Diop said. "It's a long game."
After the Illini took a 15-point lead with 10:51 to play in the first half, Ohio State rattled off a 21-2 run to end the first frame, as Illinois went scoreless for the final 10:11 of the first 20 minutes without a single point.
Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said he didn't think Ohio State did anything different during that stretch. Rather, his team got away from what gave it the lead.
"They are very good defensively. Every time we got the ball to the third side in the first half in that run, we were great and we scored," Underwood said. "Then all of a sudden, we just quit doing it. When we get in trouble, we quit passing, and that's this team's downfall."
Chris Holtmann admitted after the game that he didn't necessarily have the same outlook as Bates-Diop did when the Buckeyes trailed early, but said he has confidence in his players to continue to battle.
"I am not the most confident guy at that point," Holtmann said of Ohio State's early deficit. "I do recognize that it's a long game and when you watch Illinois play, there have been runs they have made on teams. The way they play can lead to runs on both ends.
"I just didn't think we had enough life to us defensively. Having said that, we have a pretty poised, confident group. I am confident in their ability to respond. It was a game of imperfection and we knew that going in," Holtmann continued. "That comes from going through a lot of stuff together and winning games when you're down. I think that is where a lot of that confidence comes from."
Going into a matchup with No. 3 Purdue on Wednesday, Holtmann acknowledged his team will likely need a better start to the game in order to pull the upset, but made sure to give credit to Ohio State's opponents, who continue to give the Buckeyes their best shot.
"We've had some slow starts, but I give the other teams credit for that," Holtmann said. "We will continue to talk to our guys about it and make sure they understand the importance of getting off to a quicker start."
