The focus coming into the game was on E.J. Liddell. For the first time in his career, the two-time Illinois Mr. Basketball winner was returning to the State Farm Center to play in front of a fanbase that saw him pick Ohio State over the Fighting Illini.
It only intensified in the hours leading into the game, when the junior forward was officially listed as questionable for the showdown between No. 22 Ohio State and No. 15 Illinois while battling a flu that had limited him in Monday’s win against Indiana.
The orange-clad student section let him know how they felt early and often. But on this night, Liddell didn’t have to be Superman in his return to Illinois. Freshman Malaki Branham donned that cape and together, the dynamic duo fueled a second-half burst that powered the Buckeyes (18-7, 11-5 Big Ten) to an 85-83 road win against the Fighting Illini (19-8, 12-5) that went down to the final seconds.
Ohio State basketball insider: Stay in the know with texts from beat reporter Adam Jardy
Liddell gave the Buckeyes their first lead of the game when he hit a jumper to open the second half on the first possession after the break. That gave Ohio State a 38-37 lead, and what had been a strong close to the first half continued unabated during the second. The Buckeyes scored on seven of their first nine possessions of the half, putting together a 20-2 run dating back to the first half that gave them a 50-39 lead when Illinois called timeout with 15:33 left.
The Illini offense would eventually kick back into gear, but the Ohio State offense had answers. Most of them involved Branham, who finished with a third straight game of 20-plus points.
By the end, neither Illinois coach Brad Underwood nor center Kofi Cockburn were around to do anything about it. Underwood picked up a second technical foul and was ejected with 6:21 to play, and Cockburn fouled out with 4:33 to play after being held to 12 points and a season-low three rebounds on 5-of-15 shooting.
They missed a stretch of three straight Ohio State turnovers during the final three minutes as a 78-66 Ohio State lead was cut to 78-76 before Branham hit two free throws with 1:46 left, pushing him past the 30-point mark. Illinois answered with a bucket to cut it to two, but Liddell’s fadeaway jumper again made it a four-point game with 1:06 to play.
From the Underwood ejection, Illinois scored on 12 straight possessions to pull within 84-83 before a Kyle Young free throw with 9.5 seconds gave the Buckeyes an 85-83 lead and a final turnover from Trent Frazier led to a Cedric Russell free throw with 2.4 seconds left to set the final score. Ohio State committed four of its seven turnovers in the final 5:11, the final three of which were all from Penn State graduate transfer guard Jamari Wheeler in the final 2:49.
Branham had 31 points on 10-of-14 shooting to lead all scorers while Liddell had 21 points, six rebounds and four blocks. Young tied a career high with 18 points and Ohio State made more free throws (26 for 32) than Illinois attempted (11 for 17).
Thanks to a blazing hot early performance from Alfonzo Plummer, and a strong defensive Illinois effort that seemingly had an extra hand to throw in front of every shot, the Illini surged to a 21-8 lead near the midpoint of the first half. Plummer, who had missed all seven of his 3-point attempts during his last two games, had 12 of those points on four attempts from deep to personally outscore the Buckeyes.
Liddell answered on the next possession, scoring his first points of the game on a turnaround jumper at the exact halfway mark of the half. It jumpstarted a stretch of Ohio State scoring on six of its next seven possessions, putting together a 14-2 run in the process and chopping that 21-8 Illinois lead down to 23-22.
Justin Ahrens, scoreless in three of his last four games including two straight, hit a 3-pointer during the run and also added two free throws after being drilled in the head by Da’Monte Williams’ left elbow while playing defense. Williams was assessed a Flagrant 1 foul, and Ahrens’ free throws pulled Ohio State within 23-19.
After Illinois pushed its lead back to seven points on an Andre Curbelo drive with 2:28 remaining, Ohio State closed with a 6-0 run to close the half that featured a Young right-handed running hook shot, a Kofi Cockburn goaltending call while Liddell was being fouled that also resulted in a free throw, and a Young free throw with 34.5 seconds remaining to set the halftime score at 37-36 Illinois.
Young was impactful and accurate throughout the half, leading the Buckeyes with 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting including a pair of 3-pointers and also helped frustrate Cockburn. The Illinois big man had 9 points on 4-of-12 shooting in the first half while Plummer had 18 on six made 3-pointers to lead all scorers.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism