Illinois Basketball: 3 things to watch for in the Illini game against Ohio State

Illinois basketball welcomes in the Ohio State Buckeyes for a big game in regards to the Big Ten standings.

While the Illini are in 9th place in the Big Ten, we are only one game out of second place. Ohio State is also looking up, as they are in 12th place in the conference, but they are only two games back of Rutgers for second place.

This should be a great game, but I am going to be watching a few things to see if they can go Illinois’ way.

Here are three things to watch for in the Illinois basketball game against Ohio State.

1. Can Illinois slow down Brice Sensabaugh

Sometimes Illinois plays so badly that I want them to forget the game and move on. This isn’t one of those cases, though. I want the Illini players to remember the throttling they took at the hands of Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Jackson-Davis led Indiana to victory over Illinois with 35 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and three blocks on 15-of-19 shooting from the field. It was an absolutely embarrassing performance by any Illinois player who was matched up against the Hoosier big man.

On Tuesday night, I am going to see if the Illini are better prepared for Brice Sensabaugh. He is a dominating forward for Ohio State who is putting up massive numbers as a freshman.

For the season, Sensabaugh is averaging 17.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game while shooting 51.3% from the field and 47.7% from three-point range. The last time he didn’t hit double-digit points in a game was way back on November 30. That was his last time and the only time he failed to hit 10 points this season.

At 6-foot-6, 235-pounds, Sensabaugh is going to be tough to handle. He can play multiple roles on the floor. From what I have seen, he plays the No. 2 spot for Ohio State. I see either Sencire Harris or Terrence Shannon Jr. opening the game on him. They will have a big task ahead of them on Tuesday night.