Deshaun Thomas scored 19 points, Aaron Craft filled the box score as he normally does and the Ohio State Buckeyes earned their 13th Big Ten victory in Columbus in a 68-55 win against the Illinois Fighting Illini.
Ohio State vs. Illinois final score: Buckeyes’ defense stifles Illini, 68-55
The Ohio State Buckeyes’ defense held strong, and they remained in the top of the Big Ten race with a win against Illinois.
Jamie Sabau
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Craft added 14 points, six assists and three steals for Thad Matta’s squad, which moved to 13-5 in conference play, a half-game behind Indiana for the Big Ten lead.
After a slow start to the game for both teams, OSU began to pull away with six minutes to play in the first half, ending the opening stanza on a 10-2 run. Leading 33-24 heading into the locker room, the Buckeyes led by as many as 12 points a couple of times as the Fighting Illini couldn’t cut the lead below seven over the course of the second half.
Ohio State held Illinois to 35 percent shooting on the day. Brandon Paul put in 21 points and D.J. Richardson added 10, but the Illini hit only seven of their 25 three-point attempts on the day.
Against the Buckeyes’ defense, Illinois only recorded six total assists, and OSU’s attacking offense on the other end resulting in 25 free-throw attempts, a sign of Matta’s team being constantly on the attack.
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