Ohio State's miracle run from fired head coach to NCAA Tournament bubble contender came to a heartbreaking end on Friday.
Despite leading for much of the second half, up 10 points at one point, the 10th-seeded Buckeyes (20-13, 10-12 Big Ten) couldn't hang on at the end of the ballgame and fell to second-seeded Illinois (24-8, 15-6), the No. 13 team in the country, 77-74.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| #10 Ohio State | 29 | 45 | 74 |
| #2 Illinois | 31 | 46 | 77 |
Ohio State, a fringe bubble team entering Friday, likely saw its NCAA Tournament hopes dashed with the loss. It also brought an end to the Buckeyes' five-game winning streak.
Star guard Terrence Shannon Jr. posted 28 points for the Fighting Illini to lead them to victory. Center Dain Dainja was a force down low, with 18 points and eight rebounds.
Bruce Thornton led the way for Ohio State with a fantastic all-around game, picking up 20 points and a career-high 10 assists. Jamison Battle picked up a team-high 21 points.
The Buckeyes and Illini each struggled on the defensive glass, with both teams scoring 17 second-chance points. Illinois' felt especially backbreaking, however, coming in several spots where it felt the team might be on the ropes.
That was one of many areas where the teams were similar statistically. Both sides shot exactly 4-of-15 from three and scored 42 points in the paint. Both turned it over 11 times. Illinois held a slight advantage in bench scoring 23-20, Ohio State had a thin margin in field-goal percentage 45.5% to 41.9%.
A 21-of-32 evening at the free throw line stands out as the Illini's biggest advantage, with the Buckeyes whistled for 27 fouls and Illinois called for just 13. Ohio State was 10-of-13 from the charity stripe.
First half
Ohio State and Illinois came out and combined for 19 points in the game's first five minutes. Thornton collected five of those, and a block on one end with a dunk on the other for Felix Okpara gave the Buckeyes an early 11-6 lead.
Dainja and Shannon pitched in four points each to climb Illinois back in quickly, the Illini grabbing their first lead at 16-15. A triple from Shannon made it nine points in the first 10 minutes for the team's star.
Roddy Gayle Jr. answered with a floater, but then Illinois launched a 7-0 run thanks to a drought of 3:14 without any Ohio State points. Shannon collected six in the stretch for the Illini, who collected a 23-17 advantage.
Trailing 25-18 with Battle, Evan Mahaffey and Devin Royal hitting foul trouble, things were looking bleak early for Ohio State. But the Buckeyes weren't going away that easily.
Royal flicked a paint shot up and in, Scotty Middleton poked a steal away and found Gayle for a transition slam, then a three-point play on a second-chance stick back by Zed Key combined with an alley-oop flush from Okpara for a 9-0 Ohio State run.
Shannon answered with a steal and slam, then some exchanges of baskets left Illinois with a 31-29 lead at halftime.
Second half
| OHIO STATE | STAT | ILLINOIS |
|---|---|---|
| 74 | POINTS | 77 |
| 30-66 (45.5%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 26-62 (41.9%) |
| 4-15 (26.7%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 4-15 (26.7%) |
| 10-13 (76.9%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 21-32 (65.6%) |
| 11 | TURNOVERS | 11 |
| 40 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 44 |
| 14 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 19 |
| 26 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 25 |
| 20 | BENCH POINTS | 23 |
| 5 | BLOCKS | 4 |
| 6 | STEALS | 2 |
| 15 | ASSISTS | 12 |
The Buckeyes came out with a fury in the second period.
Battle rose up to knock down a well-contested mid-range jumper and a Gayle and-one off a fast break combined with a step-back three from Thornton capped an 8-0 run out of the gate.
Illinois had answers as a triple from Marcus Domask – the first points for the Illini's second-leading scorer – fueled a 7-1 run to knot the game at 38.
Royal got going with four straight points and a three-point play by Thornton boosted the Buckeyes to a 9-2 run in return. Middleton collected a quick five points and Ohio State had its largest lead to that point at 50-42 with 12:51 remaining.
A Thornton floater pushed the advantage to double-digits two minutes later at 56-46.
Illinois' answer again came in short order. Shannon scored five points in a row as part of a 9-1 run to cut the Ohio State lead to one. Dainja got two putbacks with fouls, converting one into a three-point play to tie the game at 59 with 7:41 to play. Four members of OSU's frontcourt were up to four fouls.
Bonner and Battle regained a four-point Buckeye lead in transition.
The teams fought back and forth down the stretch of the game. Battle hit a jumper to extend the lead to 67-62, Dainja and Shannon cut the lead to one with makes of their own. Battle followed his own miss with a putback, Coleman Hawkins hit a layup for Illinois. Thornton knocked down a floater, Dainja made another layup.
Dainja's layup came with a foul on Okpara that fouled him out of the game. Dainja missed the free throw but an offensive rebound led to another foul, this one that sent Mahaffey to the bench with his fifth. Dainja hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 71 with 2:22 to play.
Battle knocked down a gorgeous step-back triple with a hand in his face to make it 74-71 Ohio State with 1:44 to play.
Shannon got a foul on the other end and hit two free throws, then an ensuing Battle layup was blocked and Hawkins drew a foul to hit two more at the stripe and make it 75-74 Illinois with 1:14 left.
Shannon cashed in two more free throws after an illegal screen from Key to make it 77-74 with 11 seconds to play. Battle had a well-contested look to tie on the other end but couldn't knock it down.
What's next
Ohio State awaits a likely bid to the NIT with a win against Illinois thought to be necessary for an NCAA Tournament shot.
Game notes
- It was the second straight game setting a career-high in assists for Thornton after he piled up nine against Iowa in the second round of the tourney.
- Okpara extended his blocked shot streak to 40 games.
