How to watch Illinois vs. Ohio State basketball game
By Scout Staff
2 min read
Who’s Playing
Ohio State @ Illinois
Current Records: Ohio State 17-7; Illinois 19-7
What to Know
The #15 Illinois Fighting Illini won both of their matches against the #22 Ohio State Buckeyes last season (73-68 and 91-88) and are aiming for the same result on Thursday. Illinois and the Buckeyes will face off in a Big Ten battle at 9 p.m. ET at State Farm Center. The Fighting Illini have the odds in their favor, so they’ll need to guard against complacency.
Even if it wasn’t a dominant performance, Illinois beat the Michigan State Spartans 79-74 on Saturday. Guard Jacob Grandison and center Kofi Cockburn were among the main playmakers for Illinois as the former shot 6-for-10 from downtown and finished with 24 points, five dimes and five rebounds and the latter had 27 points along with nine boards.
Meanwhile, the Indiana Hoosiers typically have all the answers at home, but on Monday OSU proved too difficult a challenge. OSU enjoyed a cozy 80-69 win over the Hoosiers. The Buckeyes’ guard Malaki Branham looked sharp as he had 27 points in addition to five rebounds.
The wins brought the Fighting Illini up to 19-7 and OSU to 17-7. Two stats to keep an eye on: Illinois is stumbling into the contest with the 25th fewest takeaways in college basketball, having accrued only 10.8 on average. OSUs have had an even harder time: they are 18th worst in college basketball in takeaways, with only 10.5 on average. It’s possible one of these Achilles’ heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.
How To Watch
- When: Thursday at 9 p.m. ET
- Where: State Farm Center — Champaign, Illinois
- TV: Fox Sports 1
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Ticket Cost: $15.00
Odds
The Fighting Illini are a big 7.5-point favorite against the Buckeyes, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The line has drifted a bit towards the Fighting Illini, as the game opened with the Fighting Illini as a 6-point favorite.
Over/Under: -110
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Series History
Ohio State have won six out of their last ten games against Illinois.
- Mar 14, 2021 – Illinois 91 vs. Ohio State 88
- Mar 06, 2021 – Illinois 73 vs. Ohio State 68
- Jan 16, 2021 – Ohio State 87 vs. Illinois 81
- Mar 05, 2020 – Ohio State 71 vs. Illinois 63
- Feb 14, 2019 – Illinois 63 vs. Ohio State 56
- Dec 05, 2018 – Ohio State 77 vs. Illinois 67
- Feb 04, 2018 – Ohio State 75 vs. Illinois 67
- Jan 01, 2017 – Illinois 75 vs. Ohio State 70
- Jan 28, 2016 – Ohio State 68 vs. Illinois 63
- Jan 03, 2016 – Ohio State 75 vs. Illinois 73
Injury Report for Illinois
- Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk: Out (Concussion)
- RJ Melendez: Out (Abdomen)
- Austin Hutcherson: Out for the Season (Back)
Injury Report for Ohio State
- Justice Sueing: Out (Abdomen)
- E.J. Liddell: Game-Time Decision (Illness)
- Seth Towns: Out for the Season (Back)
