Coming off a huge win over Tennessee, the Illinois basketball team remains on the road in Columbus.
Ohio State is next on the schedule. This is a solid Buckeyes bunch, as they sit at 7-1 this season with a good road win over Northwestern in the last game. The Illini should be ready, though.
Illinois just finished a huge top 15 victory over the Volunteers, and this team is starting to gel at the right time. There will be a few big questions I will need answered throughout the game, though.
Here are three key questions for the Illinois basketball team vs Ohio State
1. Can Keaton Wagler exploit his mismatch?
Quietly, Illinois has one of the premier freshmen in college basketball. Keaton Wagler has burst onto the scene, and his star hasn’t burned out despite going up against good teams.
Wagler is coming off his best game of the season against No. 13 Tennessee, where he finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, all of which led the Illini.
I think Wagler could have another big game against Ohio State. Illinois trots out a big lineup, and this should cause a mismatch.
While the Buckeyes have decent size in the frontcourt and on the wing, their two guards in the backcourt measure at 6-foot-1 and 6-foot-2. Wagler, at the No. 2 guard spot, is 6-foot-6.
That size difference will hurt Ohio State on both ends of the court. Wagler loves to shoot from the perimeter, and he shouldn’t have issues getting the ball over his defender. I love his chances when he takes it to the hoop, too. The undersized Ohio State guard will struggle.
Defensively, Wagler at 6-foot-6 should be a nightmare for, I believe, John Mobley Jr. That is a lot of size to give up. Let’s see if this size mismatch is something Illinois exploits early and often against the Buckeyes.
2. Will Illinois’ big men force Ohio State to the perimeter?
Numbers never lie, but sometimes they can be deceiving. An example of this is with Ohio State's three-point shooting.
For the season, the Buckeyes are shooting 36.9% from three-point range. That is good enough to rank No. 59 in the country. If you just look at that number, Illinois fans would have a right to be worried about the Buckeyes’ ability to shoot from long range.
Well, there is a little more to that number. Ohio State has shot 31% or worse from three-point range in five out of eight games this season, which includes five out of the last six contests.
The Buckeyes’ three-point shooting number is skewed by two insane games. They were 16-of-28, 57.1%, against Purdue Fort Wayne, and they were 15-of-31, 48.4%, against Mount St. Mary’s. Besides those two games, this team is not a great three-point shooting program.
As I said earlier, the Buckeyes have size in the paint, though. Illinois’ big men – Tomislav Ivisic, Zvonimir Ivisic, David Mirkovic, and really, Ben Humrichous – have a chance to really wreak havoc on the Buckeyes. By locking down the paint, they can force Ohio State to push the ball out to the perimeter, where they are extremely inefficient.
If Illinois can get Ohio State to play more of a perimeter game, then I think we not only win this game, but I believe the Illini could leave Columbus with a double-digit victory.
3. Could Ben Humrichous be used as more of a defensive stopper again?
I kind of touched on this in the previous key. Humrichous has gone from a pretty disappointing three-point shooter from last season to now someone who could be looked at as a defensive stopper.
Humrichous was shredded quite often in 2024-25 defensively. He wasn’t quick, and he played flatfooted quite often. That seems to have changed, though. Brad Underwood mentioned it in his postgame press conference after the Tennessee game. Humrichous has been special for the Illini defense.
I want to see if that can happen against Ohio State, too. The Buckeyes have good size in the paint, and their bench produces a 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-8 player who can play forward or on the wing. This is in addition to the 6-foot-6, 6-foot-8, and 7-foot players Ohio State starts.
Humrichous has been impressive this season. He clearly developed his body for Big Ten play. Much like Tomislav Ivisic, this kid is thicker than he was last season. He can withstand back-to-the-basket play, and that is huge for Illinois.
Let’s see if Humrichous can continue his great defensive effort. Illinois is going to need it against a talented Ohio State squad.