No. 22 Ohio State faces No. 15 Illinois in a crucial Big Ten matchup at 9 p.m. ET Thursday. Both teams enter on one-game win streaks - Ohio State coming off an 80-69 overtime victory against Indiana, while Illinois defeated Michigan State 79-74.

Conference Standings Impact

• Illinois (12-4) and Ohio State (10-5) are battling near the top of the Big Ten
• Purdue (13-4) and Wisconsin (12-4) lead the conference
• Rutgers (10-6) and Michigan State (9-6) trail closely behind

Team Analysis

Ohio State:

• Efficient offense led by NBA prospect EJ Liddell
• Ranks 19th in overall shooting percentage
• 27th in three-point percentage
• Strong perimeter defense (29th in opponent two-point percentage)

Illinois:

• Dominates rebounding (13th nationally with 39.7 per game)
• Kofi Cockburn averages 21.7 points and 11.2 rebounds
• Elite interior defense (18th in opponent effective FG%)
• Makes 9.2 three-pointers per game (26th nationally)

Betting Outlook Illinois opens as 4-5 point favorites at home. However, Ohio State has momentum and could pull the upset both straight up and against the spread.

This Big Ten showdown has major implications for conference tournament seeding and March Madness positioning.

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