3 Big Questions for Illinois Basketball vs. Ohio State

The Illini have more to answer for than usual as they meet a Buckeyes' team on a three-game heater

Jan 11, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Tre White (22) controls the ball during the first half against the USC Trojans at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images / Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

After getting payback over Northwestern a week ago, No. 18 Illinois (14-7, 6-5 Big Ten) went to Lincoln, Nebraska, and fell in overtime to the punchless Cornhuskers – who had been on a six-game losing streak to the Illini.

Illinois, which has been one of the most dominant rebounding and defensive teams in college basketball this season, has resorted to looking for some breaks at home against a middling Big Ten club in Ohio State (13-8, 5-5 Big Ten) – but one that has nevertheless won three in a row.

Here are three key questions for what has turned into a must-win game for Illinois:

Who will win on the glass?

Ohio State's plus-2.4 rebounding margin isn't especially impressive for a Power 4 squad, but the Buckeyes' recent play is telling a different story. During their three-game win streak, they have outrebounded their opponents by an average margin of 10.7 boards per game. Meanwhile, the Illini – win or lose – have continued to dominate the glass, following up their gargantuan rebounding performance against Northwestern (a plus-23 margin) with a plus-16 showing against Nebraska.

Can Tre White get back into double-digit scoring?

Following a midseason tear, White has recently been quiet in the scoring column, having been held under 10 points in each of Illinois' past five contests. And with the Illini stumbling over that stretch, it has become clear: White needs to be aggressive in hunting for offense. When he has done so, the results have been impossible to ignore: Illinois is 7-2 in the nine games that White has scored 10 or more points (and in which he has shot 54.3 percent from the field). Good things happen when White searches for his own shot, and especially with Tomislav Ivisic (mono) still out, Illinois needs others to step up on the offensive end. White must be that guy Sunday.

We have liftoff 🛫 pic.twitter.com/FS3XpUrVsy

— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) January 27, 2025

Can Illinois stifle Ohio State’s three-point attack?

The Buckeyes' 37.4 percent long-distance shooting ranks second in the Big Ten. Between Bruce Thornton (41 threes), John Mobley Jr. (48 threes), Micah Parrish (32 threes) and Meechie Johnson Jr. (20 threes), Ohio State has four quality perimeter weapons. And with each shooting 35.7 percent or better, the Buckeyes don’t hesitate to put them up. That’s unlikely to change Sunday in Champaign. Whether those shots fall is another question, as Illinois holds opponents to just 28.4 percent from deep – a number that ranks 10th in the country.

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