Ohio State Drops Heart-Breaker to Illinois, Ends Run in Big Ten Tournament

The Ohio State Buckeyes fell just short of victory Friday night against the No. 13 Illinois Fighting Illini, ending their run in the 2024 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament.

The Ohio State Buckeyes lost a tough one to the No. 13 Illinois Fighting Illini on Friday night, 77-74.

This defeat was only the second for the Buckeyes since Jake Diebler was promoted to interim head coach back in mid-January. Ohio State is 1-1 in games against ranked opponents in that time, upsetting then-No. 2 Purdue before dropping to the Illini most recently.

Ohio State ends the season with a 20-13 record, which is impressive considering a winning clip seemed out of reach at points during the year.

Senior forward Jamison Battle led the way for the Buckeyes in the scoring department, dropping in 21 points on eight-of-16 shooting from the floor. Sophomore guard Bruce Thornton finished just behind Battle with 20 points, but recorded a game-high ten assists.

Thornton's number of apples dominated that of Illinois' team leader in the category, senior forward Marcus Domask, who ended the contest with only four. Ohio State out-assisted Illinois as a team as well, winning that battle, 15-12.

The Buckeyes had just as good or better marks shooting at every point on the floor. Ohio State tied Illinois with almost 28 percent from behind the three-point line, but beat them from the field (approximately 46 percent) and at the free-throw stripe (77 percent).

Ohio State's only chance at playing more basketball this season lies outside of their control. The Buckeyes likely do not have a shot for a bid in the 2024 NCAA Tournament but could be offered a spot in the 2024 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) later this month.