Illini squander lead against No. 19 OSU
Keyshawn Woods stepped up precisely when Ohio State needed it, scoring 12 of his 18 points in the second half, with Kaleb Wesson adding 13, as the 19th-ranked Buckeyes rallied in the second half for a 77-67 victory over Illinois on Wednesday night at the United Center.
Musa Jallow had 11 points and nine rebounds as the Buckeyes (8-1) improved to 2-0 in the Big Ten. Trent Frazier and Kipper Nichols scored 18 apiece as Illinois (2-7, 0-2) dropped its third straight.
The Illini have lost 12 in a row to ranked teams. The school’s last victory against a Top 25 opponent was 68-66 over No. 20 Iowa in the second round of the 2016 Big Ten Tournament.
“I was really pleased with our first half,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “I thought, probably for a six-, seven- or eight-minute stretch, that was as good as we’ve looked, and the way I envision us.”
The second half was a different story, though. The Buckeyes shot 12-for-21 (57.1 percent) in the final 20 minutes to flip the game. The Illini went 9-for-33 (27.3 percent) after halftime.
♦ Sophomore Cameron Krutwig had 19 points and eight rebounds, and senior Marques Townes added 14 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough for Loyola (5-4, 3-3 Missouri Valley), which fell 75-69 to visiting Ball State. The Cardinals got a game-high 22 points from K.J. Walton.
♦ Tarkus Ferguson was just 4-for-16 shooting but had 14 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for the second triple-double in UIC history in a 94-75 win over visiting Illinois State. Jordan Blount scored a career-high 27 points for UIC (4-5, 4-1 Horizon).