Illinois Basketball: 4 keys for the Illini to beat Ohio State
By Collin Allen
2. Play aggressive defense
Illinois will be matched up against a well-disciplined and efficient Ohio State offense. The Orange and Blue will want to play lockdown defense to try and force some Buckeyes turnovers to slow down this efficient offense. This will be tough, however, as Ohio State is only committing 9.8 turnovers per game, which ranks No. 7 in the entire country.
In addition, Illinois will want to contain junior guard Duane Washington Jr, who leads the Buckeyes in scoring. Washington is scoring 15.7 points per game for Ohio State by shooting nearly 40-percent from beyond the arc. The sniper has been hot lately, as he’s racked up at least 17 points in each of the Buckeyes’ last three games.
The Illini will want to play aggressive defensively but will also want to avoid getting into foul trouble, given that this Ohio State squad is dangerous from the free throw line.
The Buckeyes are shooting an impressive 75.3-percent from the stripe, which ranks No. 42 in the entire nation. CJ Walker leads the team in this feat, shooting a ridiculous 97.7-percent from the line. This ranks No. 5 out of all DI players in the country. Washington Jr. is also dangerous from the charity stripe, as he is shooting an impressive 88.6-percent on the year
If the Illini can defend this Ohio State team the way they defended Northwestern in the second half in their January 7 matchup, they should have absolutely nothing to worry about.