The Ohio State Buckeyes (7-2, 1-1) welcomed the No. 13 Illinois Fighting Illini (7-2, 1-0) to Columbus for an important early conference matchup. In a game that relied on offense from the jump, Illinois came
away with an 88-80 win.
The Buckeyes were coming off an 86-82 win at Northwestern to open conference play, while Illinois defeated Tennessee 75-62 in its last time on the court.
This one started as the Bruce Thornton and David Mirkovic show, as Thornton knocked down four three-pointers and a layup to start with 14 points. Thornton came into the contest averaging 20.1 points per game.
Mirkovic answered the bell early as well, recording 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field and 3-for-3 from three-point range in the first eight minutes. He also recorded four rebounds.
Illinois started the game 12-for-20 from the field, but only led 30-24 at the under-eight media timeout.
Starting center Christoph Tilly showed his offensive prowess early on, recording eight points and four rebounds in the first 15 minutes. Another Thornton three-pointer cut the Illinois lead to just 31-29 with six minutes left in the half.
Ohio State took a 34-33 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half, and then the Illini put their foot on the gas, a 15-9 run to end the half, leading 48-42. Devin Royal and John Mobley Jr. knocked down three-pointers for the Buckeyes to put a band-aid on the bleeding late in the half, and Royal made a bucket as time expired.
Thornton was unbelievable in the opening half for the Buckeyes, recording 24 points on 9-for-10 shooting from the field and 6-for-7 from three-point range. He also added three rebounds and three assists and played all 20 minutes.
The Illini were more balanced in the first half, with Keaton Wagler scoring 14 points, Mirkovic recording eleven points, and Zvonimir Ivisic recording ten points.
The rebounding conversation was a big one coming into the game, and in the first half, it was fairly even with Illinois securing 15 rebounds and only two offensive, and Ohio State securing 14 rebounds and three offensive.
The Buckeyes trailed 48-42 at halftime, so winning the first four minutes of the second half was key in this one. They did just that, starting the second half on an 11-5 run to tie the game at 53 at the under-16 media timeout.
The Buckeyes and Illini traded baskets, and Illinois took a 60-55 lead into the under-12 media timeout. Illinois continued to make its open shots and free throws and took a 70-64 lead into the under-eight media timeout.
Illinois led 75-68 heading into the under-four timeout, but a three from Wagler gave them a 78-70 lead with 2:30 left in the game.
Here are 12 takeaways from the Buckeyes’ loss to No. 13 Illinois.
Clean injury report for Ohio State
Starting guard John Mobley Jr. and starting center Christoph Tilly entered the last game against Northwestern on the injury report as questionable, but both started and played normal minutes. They were off the injury report coming into this one.
Illinois goes on an early run
Through the first six minutes of the game, Illinois led 18-12 after falling 5-2 early in the contest. In that 16-7 run, the Illini made six of seven field goals to take the early lead.
Captain Bruce rains threes early on
In the first eight minutes of the game, Ohio State’s leading scorer Bruce Thornton knocked down four three-pointers and a layup to start with 14 points. Thornton came into the contest averaging 20.1 points per game.
David Mirkovic answers the Buckeyes run
Mirkovic has been one of the leading scorers this season, as he was averaging 13.8 points per game entering the contest. However, he had not been shooting great from three-point range, only shooting 29.4%. He shattered that number early, recording 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field and 3-for-3 from three-point range in the first eight minutes. He also recorded four rebounds.
Buckeyes continue to answer Illinois
Early in the contest, Ohio State did a good job answering the hot shooting of Illinois, with Thornton knocking down his first five three-point attempts and eight field goal attempts.
Bruce Thornton goes Thanos mode in the first half
“Fine, I’ll do it myself” is the post-credit scene for the movie “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” showing the power of Thanos. This is what Bruce Thornton did in the first half, recording 24 points on 9-for-10 shooting from the field and 6-for-7 from three-point range. He also added three rebounds and three assists and played all 20 minutes.
Illinois goes on a run to end the opening half
Ohio State took a 34-33 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half, and then the Illini put their foot on the gas, 15-9 run to end the half, leading 48-40. Devin Royal and John Mobley Jr. knocked down three-pointers for the Buckeyes to put a band-aid on the bleeding late in the half, and Royal made a bucket as time expired.
Illinois takes advantage of the free-throw line
The Illini got into the double bonus late in the opening half and took advantage, as they shot 11-for-11 from the free throw line to pad their six-point lead.
John Mobley Jr. starts the second half hot
Mobley struggled in the first half, recording just three points on 1-for-6 shooting from the field and 1-for-4 from three-point range. However, he quickly knocked down two field goals for four early points in the second half to help Ohio State tie the game back up.
Ohio State starts second half strong
The Buckeyes trailed 48-42 at halftime, so winning the first four minutes of the second half was key in this one. They did just that, starting the second half on an 11-5 run to tie the game at 53 at the under-16 media timeout.
Buckeyes struggle with the free ones
The Buckeyes struggled to hit their free throws, as Mobley, who was an 85.2% free-throw shooter heading into this contest, went 1-for-4 from the charity stripe on two straight occasions. Then, after that, Christoph Tilly split his free throws on a trip to the line.
Illinois hits the key shots to win
The Buckeyes needed to go on a run in between the final two media timeouts, and Illinois never allowed them to by hitting the shots when it mattered down the stretch to ice the game.
