Ohio State basketball vs. Illinois: OSU tries to end streak again

The Ohio State basketball team is once again looking to end their losing streak. It stands at nine right now and they have just three more games on their schedule to break the streak. One of them is today at noon as they take on Illinois for the second time this year.

Ohio State had a chance to beat the Illini on the road and almost were able to do so the first time but fell 69-60. Since then, the Buckeyes have only known losses. Based on the way they’ve been playing, I don’t know how they can fix things enough to experience a win.

The Buckeyes lost to Penn State on Wednesday by four points. Their final possession of the game went unfortunately viral because of how sad it was. It honestly encapsulated how bad the team is and how poorly the season has unfolded for the Ohio State basketball program.

According to FanDuel, Illinois is a 4.5-point favorite. I would have them higher quite frankly. You get -110 odds if you take the Illini. Take that bet. If the Buckeyes don’t cover, like they haven’t been able to during this losing streak, at least you can make some money on their misery.

Prediction: Ohio State basketball 62 Illinois 72

I don’t see any way that the Buckeyes win this game even though they are at home. They don’t play with any confidence offensively and have struggled recently on the defensive side of the ball as well. There hasn’t been a lot of positive to take away recently.

If you are looking for a positive, the Buckeyes at least had a shot to win the game on Wednesday night. Brice Sensabaugh and Bruce Thornton also had strong offensive performances. If they can replicate those, they will give the Buckeyes a chance to win again.

You can watch the game today at noon ET on CBS.