Welcome to the Big Ten where you simply have to expect the unexpected. Ohio State has had all kinds of issues on the road at times this season but found a way to go to Champaign and knock off No. 15 Illinois 86-83 to put itself right in the thick of the Big Ten title race.
Early on, it looked like the Illini would run away with things behind the home crowd and a 13-point lead it built early in the first half. OSU found itself behind Kyle Young, Malaki Branham, and E.J. Liddell though as the half went on, and the Buckeyes were able to tighten things up to just a one-point deficit at halftime.
In the second half, Ohio State came out on fire and put some serious distance between itself and Illinois, going up by as many as 16 points. Malaki Branham was the star offensively in the second half, but the Buckeyes did a lot of its best work of the year on defense as well, holding center Kofi Cockburn in check, even getting him in foul trouble and eventually out of the game with five fouls.
But, this was a home game for Illinois, and you knew the Illini would make a run, and make a run they did. After coach Brad Underwood was ejected from the game because of two technical fouls, the Illini seemed to be energized, turned up the defense, and cut the lead to just two points as the teams traded baskets with two minutes and under.
From there, OSU would get fouled a couple of times and make its free throws, but Illinois guard Trent Frazier made a turnaround 3-pointer to cut it to one with just over 14 seconds left to set up more drama. Kyle Young then got fouled and made just one of two. Ohio State then escaped when the Illini threw the ball away with just three seconds left.
A final heave was off the mark and Ohio State walked away with the nail-biting win. Off to the next one if I have any fingernails left.
Branham continued his intense rise by leading all scorers in the game with 31 one points with one of the most efficient games you’ll ever see, hitting 10-of-14 from the field and knocking down 10-of-11 free throws. Much of his work was done in clutch fashion. Liddell and Young also had big games with 21 and 18 points themselves.
With the win, Ohio State improves to 18-7 overall, but most importantly, stays just one game back in the loss column for the lead in the Big Ten at 11-5 overall. The Illini drop to 12-5 in the conference.
The Buckeyes will be in action again at Maryland on Sunday. Can we just go ahead and play the last four minutes of that one and expect that it’s going to be nip and tuck?
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