Ohio State vs. Illinois: Preview, How to Watch & Betting Odds

The Ohio State Buckeyes have lost nine in a row with three games remaining before the Big Ten Tournament.

Casey Smith | Feb 25, 2023

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Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball, if given the opportunity, would likely want a mulligan on their New Year's resolutions.

Since the turn of the calendar to 2023, Ohio State has gone 2-14 and is currently on a nine-game skid roaming near the bottom of the conference with just three games to go. Head coach Chris Holtmann has said the important thing is to build some momentum into the Big Ten Tournament and offseason, and the Buckeyes have a golden opportunity to do so against the Illinois Fighting Illini Sunday at Value City Arena.

In the first meeting between these two in Champaign, Illinois, the Fighting Illini (19-9, 10-7 Big Ten) capitalized on a 13-4 run across a 5 1/2-minute span in the latter half of the first period en route to what would be a 69-60 Illinois win.

Ohio State is on a losing streak but so is Illinois — away from the State Farm Center. The Fighting Illini have allowed an average of 81.7 points per game during their three-game road losing streak.

One key piece back in Illinois' lineup, though, is guard Terrence Shannon Jr.

The Texas Tech transfer, who scored a game-high 17 points in the Jan. 24 meeting between the Buckeyes and Illini, missed back-to-back games against the Indiana Hoosiers and Minnesota Golden Gophers, respectively. However, in his return against the Northwestern Wildcats Thursday, he dropped 26 points while knocking down four of his five 3-point attempts.

The Buckeyes are coming off their closest loss during the losing streak, a 75-71 defeat to the Penn State Nittany Lions Thursday.

Forward Brice Sensabaugh looked his normal self, knocking down tough, contested shots and fighting through contact on finishes, leading the Buckeyes with 20 points. Guard Bruce Thornton, who looks to be broken completely out of his funky 10-game stretch across the month of January, added 19 points.

Tipoff between Ohio State and Illinois, the current No. 3 seed in the Big Ten, is scheduled for noon on CBS.

WHAT: Illinois Fighting Illini (11-17, 3-14 Big Ten) at Ohio State Buckeyes (11-17, 3-14 Big Ten)

WHEN: Sunday, Feb. 25, 2023, 12 p.m. ET

WHERE: Value City Arena, Columbus, OH (19,049)

TELEVISION: CBS / FuboTV (try it free)

RADIO: The Ohio State Sports Network

Betting via SI Sportsbook

SPREAD: Illinois (-3)

MONEYLINE: TBD (Available 2/26)

TOTAL: 146

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