As Ohio State has turned its season around, it has done so almost exclusively at home.
It picked up an impressive road win at Michigan a month ago. Yet throughout the most recent 10-game stretch that includes eight wins, only two other victories came away from the Schottenstein Center, and they happened against Northwestern and Nebraska, the Big Ten’s bottom feeders.
| Who | Where | When | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 23 Illinois (20-9, 12-6) | Schottenstein Center | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
The Buckeyes aren’t alone, either. The majority of teams within the conference have had issues on the road. Illinois, though, which Ohio State plays host to on Thursday evening, has somewhat bucked the trend, picking up five road wins in the past two months.
At the Schottenstein Center on Thursday, the No. 23 Illini (20-9, 12-6) will attempt to get another win away from home when taking on the No. 19 Buckeyes (20-9, 10-8) as a 6.5-point underdog.
“Just a really tough team, well-coached, talented,” Chris Holtmann said on Wednesday. “Most everybody back, and the addition of obviously Kofi (Cockburn). I think what wins in this league is some veteran guys that have played a lot of games and a well-coached group. A really tough-minded team. It speaks to their effectiveness on the road, how tough-minded they are. Looking forward to the challenge of this one on Thursday night.”
Like Ohio State, which has won five of the past six games, Illinois enters Thursday on a roll. Brad Underwood’s team is riding a four-game winning streak, including a road win against Penn State and a home win versus Indiana.
Three Important Illini
Ayo Dosunmu (6-foot-5, 195 pounds)
This season, Dosunmu has been as consistent as Illinois could ever ask for, and he’s got everything going his way right now. The sophomore has scored in double-figures in the past 13 games, and he’s topped 15 points in each of the six most recent games. That level of productivity not exactly a surprise, given he’ll be an NBA draft pick in a couple months. Dosunmu is leading Illinois with 16.4 points and 3.1 assists in 33.2 minutes per game.
Kofi Cockburn (7-foot, 290 pounds)
Human beings don’t typically grow to be Cockburn’s size. Even on basketball courts filled with tall, lanky athletes, the freshman from Jamaica stands out.
“I've never coached against Shaq,” Holtmann said. “I'm not sure of a guy that is that specimen I have coached against.”
Cockburn has positioned himself as a prime Big Ten Freshman of the Year candidate. He’s averaging 13.6 points, nine rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 27.6 minutes per game. The big man has 12 double-doubles.
Giorgi Bezhanishvili (6-foot-9, 235 pounds)
At this point a year ago, Bezhanishvili was in the middle of a breakout performance during which he averaged 12.5 points per game. But with Cockburn now at center, his overall numbers – and efficiency – have slipped. He’s averaging seven points and five rebounds, hitting 42.3 percent of his shots from the field. In the past 10 games, he hasn’t scored more than seven points, and his minutes have decreased recently.
Three Important Buckeyes
Kaleb Wesson
At this point in the season, we’ve established that just about every game is important for Wesson, Ohio State’s leading scorer and rebounder. Yet again and again, he runs into matchups where he’s especially key. Thursday’s fits that label.
Kyle Young is day to day, Holtmann said, and it appears unlikely that he’ll play, meaning the Buckeyes again will probably have a limited frontcourt. Illinois, conversely, is one of the Big Ten’s most productive teams on the glass and will throw Cockburn and Bezhanishvili at Wesson. He will need to play a strong all-around game to put Ohio State in position to win.
Luther Muhammad
Recently, Muhammad’s game has begun to click. He’s generally playing with more confidence on both ends of the court, which he’ll need to do again on Thursday. Most likely, he’ll be tapped by Holtmann to guard Dosunmu, Illinois’ leading scorer. There’s nothing he loves more than those types of matchups.
Andre Wesson
On Thursday night, Wesson will play his final game at the Schottenstein Center. Most of the fanfare will come after the game, but as the sole scholarship senior, the only other player going through the process will be walk-on Danny Hummer.
“It's going to be bitter-sweet, for sure,” Wesson said. “Obviously my journey coming to an end here, I'm excited for the next phase. Obviously there's a lot of great memories here just with my teammates, past and present. It's going to be special, for sure.”
Three Numbers To Know
3-Point percentage
Though Illinois has some intriguing pieces, its offense hasn’t exactly been humming this season. The team ranks eighth in conference games in adjusted offensive efficiency and dead last in effective field-goal percentage.
That stat can be explained with the Illini’s 3-point shooting percentage of 29.5 in Big Ten games, which also ranks at the bottom of the conference. Most of Illinois’ offense comes via second chances and shots inside the arc. Only one player – Alan Griffin – shoots better than 32 percent from 3-point range.
Rebounding Percentage
On both ends of the court, Illinois crashes the glass effectively. Within Big Ten games, Bran Underwood’s team is second in both offensive-rebounding percentage (33.3) and opposing offensive-rebounding percentage (25.4). The size in the frontcourt makes the Illini an especially imposing challenge. Individually, Cockburn ranks top-10 in Big Ten games in both offensive-rebounding percentage and defensive-rebounding rate .
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency
In just about every metric, Illinois stands out defensively. It defends effectively both in front of and behind the arc, crashes the glass and keeps opponents off the free-throw line. Naturally, the Illini are second within Big Ten games in adjusted defensive efficiency. They haven't allowed more than 66 points in the past four games.
Other Notes
- Ohio State will honor the 1960 national championship team on Thursday. Bob Knight, Jerry Lucas, Mel Nowell and others will be in attendance.
- Holtmann on Illinois’ defense: “They've got good defensive players, good length, good size, good rim protection. They're disciplined in what they do. They don't foul you. And I think that's probably the biggest adjustment is they just do a good job with their group and you can see how the changes have paid dividends.”
- Ohio State will likely again only have eight healthy, eligible players. Young is day to day, Holtmann said, but it’s likely he sits out with an ankle sprain. Alonzo Gaffney is out for undisclosed reasons. DJ Carton remains away from the team. Musa Jallow is redshirting after multiple ankle surgeries. Justice Sueing is sitting out after transferring from Cal.
- Hummer on senior day: “It's been a lot of work for me, too. We both know how important it is after all the work we put in. I think just being able to be there with everybody that helped us get here, it's going to be special.”
- Last year, Joey Lane started on senior day. Hummer on whether he’ll be in the starting five: “We'll see what happens, but there might be something.”
How It Plays Out
This could be a difficult matchup for Ohio State without Young, considering Illinois’ size and propensity to get points on second chances with offensive rebounds. Yet the Buckeyes have thrived on their home court recently, and Kaleb Wesson’s diversity as a big man could be enough to put the Illini's normally stout defense in precarious positions. He'll have to come up big for Ohio State on both ends of the court.
Prediction: Ohio State 69, Illinois 62
