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Ohio State basketball takes on Illinois for Big Ten Title

By Ryan Stano

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 13: Justice Sueing #14 of the Ohio State Buckeyes takes a shot over Franz Wagner #21 of the Michigan Wolverines during the first half of the Big Ten men's basketball tournament semifinals at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 13, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 13: Justice Sueing #14 of the Ohio State Buckeyes takes a shot over Franz Wagner #21 of the Michigan Wolverines during the first half of the Big Ten men's basketball tournament semifinals at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 13, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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The Ohio State basketball team will take on Illinois today at 3:30 for the Big Ten Tournament Title. Can they finish off one more game?

The Ohio State basketball team was able to beat Michigan with an impressive 68-67 victory despite not having Kyle Young play in the game. Even though they had a 13-point lead that almost evaporated, they still won and will now play for a Big Ten Tournament title.

Ohio State is 1-1 against Illinois but should be 2-0. They won the first game 87-81 in a game that wasn’t super close at any point. The second game was a collapse by the Buckeyes in the last game of the regular season as they lost 73-68 after they had the game under control.

Sunday’s game will be a tough test. Both Ayo Dosumnu and Kofi Cockburn are playing at a high level. Not only is that the case, but Ohio State won’t have Young once again due to his concussion. It will be up to E.J. Liddell and Zed Key on the low post to keep Cockburn in check.

If Ohio State is going to win this game, they are going to have to shoot the three-ball well again. They did that against Michigan and that was what helped them win that game. If they don’t hit their threes, they will lose this game. It’s as simple as that.

The Buckeyes are going to need Justice Sueing and C.J. Walker to come up big again. Neither one of them scored in double digits against Michigan, but both hit big buckets at times where they needed points. It’s going to have to be a team effort for the Buckeyes.

Game prediction: Ohio State 78 Illinois 73

I honestly didn’t expect Ohio State to even make it this far. But they have shown the ability to close close games over the last three games. Because of that, I believe they will walk away with the Big Ten Tournament Championship and maybe even grab a number one seed.

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Chris Holtmann deserves a lot of credit for keeping this team together. They easily could have folded after losing four straight games to end the regular season. But they have kept themselves together and now have a chance to win a conference championship

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