Ohio State’s Haskins has case for Heisman

Heisman Trophy finalist Dwayne Haskins Jr. says his stats should earn him the prize. Haskins finished with 4,580 passing yards and 47 touchdowns, both of which led the nation.

CHICAGO >> Keyshawn Woods scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half, Kaleb Wesson added 13 and No. 19 Ohio State rallied in the second half for a 77-67 victory over Illinois on Dec. 5.

Musa Jallow had 11 points and nine rebounds as Ohio State (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 Buckeyes were 12 of 21 (57.1 percent) in the second half to flip the game. The Illini went 9 for 33 (27.3 OHIO STATE 77, ILLINOIS 67

percent) after halftime.

Illinois has lost 12 in a row against ranked teams. The school’s last victory over a Top 25 opponent was 68-66 over No. 20 Iowa in the second round of the 2016 Big Ten Tournament.

The game was played at the United Center, where the Illini entered with a 3715 record.

Ohio State had a 30-22 lead with just under six minutes remaining in the first half before the Illini closed with a 16-4 run for a 38-34 halftime lead.

The frustration for Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann boiled over midway through the spurt when he picked up a technical foul for protesting a no-call at the Ohio State basket.

Aaron Jordan made one of the two technical free throws to give Illinois a 3130 lead with 2:48 left.

Both teams shot 40 percent from the field in the first half, but the difference was Illinois going 15 for 19 at the free throw line, compared to 7 of 12 for Ohio State.

The Illini maintained a slim lead for the first several minutes of the second half, but the Buckeyes went back on top, 52-51, on a scoop shot by Duane Washington Jr. with 13:26 to play.

That basket was part of a 15-2 run as Ohio State turned a 51-48 deficit into a 63-53 lead with nine minutes to go.

Big picture

OHIO STATE >> After playing three games in eight days — including a loss to Syracuse in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge — the Buckeyes get nine days off before returning to the court.

Up next

OHIO STATE >> Hosts Bucknell on Dec. 15.

Hosts UNLV on ILLINOIS >> Dec. 8.