Tomislav Ivisic’s 3-pointer from the left corner with 44.7 seconds left gave No. 13 Illinois the final bit of breathing room needed to hold off Ohio State in an 86-78 win on Dec. 9 at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.
The Buckeyes (7-2, 1-1 Big Ten) never led during the second half but were within three points with about a minute to play after a Devin Royal bucket, but the Illini (8-2, 1-0) held off the home team in a game marred by fouls and free throws at both ends.
Illinois finished 29 for 32 from the free-throw line (90.6%) while Ohio State was 15 for 21 (71.4%).
Ohio State was within 56-55 with 14:56 to play on a Brandon Noel basket awarded via a goaltending call, and the Buckeyes had a chance to take the lead on their next possession only for John Mobley Jr. to miss a go-ahead 3-pointer.
Illinois scored on a Zvonimir Ivisic basket at the other end to pus the lead back to three, and when Andrej Stojakovic scored after a few empty possessions to go ahead by five points the Buckeyes were unable to get within one possession the rest of the way until a Royal layup with 1:19 left pulled them within 79-76.
Bruce Thornton led Ohio State with 34 points.
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Ohio State trailing at under-4 media timeout
The Buckeyes have the ball with 3:51 to play, but they trail No. 13 Illinois 75-68 after this media timeout.
Free-throw shooting has been a separator. Illinois is 11 for 13 this half and Ohio State is 7 for 12.
Illinois holding lead as second half wanes
The first 12:41 of the second half has seen a combined 22 fouls called, 11 on each team, creating a haggard flow to the game that has benefitted the Illini, who are 19 for 20 from the line and lead 70-64.
Two more free throws are pending after the under-8 media timeout with 7:19 to play.
Fouls piling up for Ohio State
Two of Ohio State’s primary frontcourt players are in significant foul trouble. Christoph Tilly and Amare Bynum each are on the bench with four fouls as Illinois leads 66-58 with 10:25 to play.
There have been 16 fouls called this half.
Christoph Tilly struggling as Illinois takes advantage
Ohio State’s starting center has missed four 3-pointers today, and after his latest miss he corralled an offensive rebound on the next possession but missed the point-black putback. Then he committed a foul, sending the game into the under-12 timeout with exactly 12 minutes to play.
Tilly has four fouls and Illinois has the ball, ahead 60-55. The Illini are 12 for 12 from the line and in the bonus for the remainder of the game.
Ohio State, Illinois trading buckets to open second half
Bruce Thornton’s driving layup through traffic pulled the Buckeyes even at 53 points, and as he headed back down the court he extended both hands and gestured for the crowd to give him a little more energy.
It obliged, but Andrej Stojakovic cut, drew contact from John Mobley Jr. and scored while being fouled to push Illinois back ahead 55-53 with a free throw pending. After only four Buckeyes scored during the first half, four have already scored during the first 4:21 of the second half.
Illinois closes half on run, takes lead into break at Ohio State
Devin Royal’s layup at the buzzer as Ohio State pushed the ball on its final possession pulled the Buckeyes within 48-42 at the break.
For Ohio State, it’s been all Bruce Thornton. He’s got 24 points and is 9 for 10 from the floor. The rest of the Buckeyes have 18 points on 6 of 21 shooting.
Illinois’ size has caused some clear issues for the Buckeyes, who have missed three point-blank layups while playing against a team with the third-tallest roster according to KenPom.com. It’s also forced the Buckeyes into some fouling, as Illinois drew 11 first-half fouls and was perfect on 11 free-throw attempts.
Illinois has only outrebounded Ohio State 15-14 and the Buckeyes have a 7-2 advantage in second-chance points, but the Buckeyes haven’t gotten many stops. Illinois is 15 for 28 (53.6%) from the floor.
Bruce Thornton finally misses, Illinois takes advantage
Bruce Thornton hit his first nine shots, the final of which was a fadeaway 3-pointer that gave the Buckeyes a 34-33 lead and marked 24 points for the senior, but Illinois has responded with back-to-back 3s of its own to take a 39-34 lead with 2:27 to play.
Thornton missed his 10th shot of the game. As he fired that one off, fans were on their feet yelling “Bruuuuuuce.”
Bruce Thornton hot, nobody else hitting for Ohio State
Ohio State’s fourth-year captain is 5 for 5 from the floor and has 14 points, but the rest of the Buckeyes are 2 for 11 and the Buckeyes trail 28-22 with nine minutes left in the first half.
Hot-shooting Illini building lead on Ohio State
Illinois freshman forward David Mirkovic is 3 for 3 from 3-point range. So is Ohio State senior Bruce Thornton, but the Illini lead 24-15 with 11:20 to play in the first half.
Ohio State has allowed Illinois to hit 6 of its last 7 shots as the Illini have scored on six of their last seven possessions to build the early lead. Each team has seven rebounds, and Ohio State’s Christoph Tilly already has four, but the Buckeyes have given up a number of open looks defensively.
Christoph Tilly leaves game early as Illinois leads
Ohio State’s starting center subbed out with 17:27 left in the first half as Illinois was about to attempt two free throws. He saw some attention from the training staff but is subbing back in at the under-16 timeout.
Illinois leads 8-5 with 15:42 to play and has nabbed two offensive rebounds.
Starters posted for Ohio State-Illinois
Here are tonight’s starters.
Ohio State: Bruce Thornton, John Mobley Jr., Devin Royal, Brandon Noel, Christoph Tilly
Illinois: Andrej Stojakovic, Kylan Boswell, Keaton Wagler, David Mrkovic, Tomislav Ivisic
Video: Pregame thoughts for Ohio State-Illinois
Here’s your pregame video report from the Jerome Schottenstein Center.
Clean injury report for Ohio State
Christoph Tilly and John Mobley Jr. were both questionable for the Northwestern game on Dec. 6, but they do no appear on the official availability report for the game.
The only players who are out are Myles Herro (redshirting) and Josh Ojianwuna (recovery from knee surgery). No Buckeyes are questionable for the game.
Ohio State vs Illinois score updates
This section will be updated when the game begins.
Ohio State vs. Illinois time today
The Ohio State vs Illinois game starts at 7:30 p.m. from the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio.
What channel is Ohio State vs. Illinois on today?
Ohio State vs. Illinois will stream nationally on Peacock in the ninth game of the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season for the Buckeyes. John Fanta and Brenday Haywood will call the game from the Jerome Schottenstein Center. Streaming options for the game are exclusively limited to Peacock.
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Ohio State vs Illinois predictions, picks, odds
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Monday, Dec. 8
Spread: Illinois by 3.5
Over/under: 155.5
Moneyline: Ohio State (+140); Illinois (-170)
Ohio State men’s basketball schedule
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Ohio State men’s basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: No. 13 Illinois fends off Ohio State, hands Buckeyes home loss: Replay
Reporting by Adam Jardy, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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