Pregame glance: Illinois

The Buckeyes travel to the Land of Lincoln on Saturday for what will no doubt be their most significant challenge to date on the season: A matchup with the #22-ranked Fighting Illini of Illinois.  Having gone against some of the weaker teams thus far in Big Ten conference play, Ohio State will need to be at the top of their game to overcome the Illini on the road.

Illinois is coming off a big win over Michigan State on Tuesday and will be eager to take their shot at knocking off the #1-ranked Buckeyes while playing before a home crowd that is sure to be even more raucous than usual in Assembly Hall.  Among Big Ten programs, Illinois probably has one of the more influential home courts, so the Ohio State players must come in focused.

Prior to the victory over Sparty, Illinois dropped consecutive games against Penn State and Wisconsin, so they’re looking to put together back-to-back wins in lieu of slipping back into picking up additional losses as the tough Big Ten season wears on.  As senior point guard Demetri McCamey said in advance of the MSU game, “We’ve got to regroup and come home and get ready for Michigan State and win home games.  As long as you win your home games and try to steal some on the road, you’ll be in good shape.”

Illinois has three other losses on the season, two coming against highly ranked opponents (Texas and Missouri) and one coming against a major underdog in the University of Illinois-Chicago, a team currently at 5-14 overall and 0-7 in the Horizon League.

Illinois certainly has the tools needed to win games, so it seems to just be a matter of putting all the pieces together consistently.  Turnovers and poor shooting did them in against Penn State, and the low field goal percentage carried over into the game against Wisconsin.  The Buckeyes cannot count on having similar struggles on the part of Illinois working in their favor this weekend.

McCamey is clearly the star of the Illinois’ squad, leading them in points and assists and shooting a very solid 52.5% from three.  McCamey’s floor presence is a real asset for the team, as he effectively runs the show for the Blue & Orange and has both the strength and quickness to handle any point guard assigned to him.  However, the real danger for the Buckeyes will be senior center Mike Tisdale.  At 7’1, Tisdale poses a difficult matchup, not necessarily for his inside scoring game, but rather because of his shooting touch from outside.  Tisdale is an intelligent player who makes the most of his physical tools, and will be a new kind of challenge for Jared Sullinger should the freshman draw Tisdale on defense.  It will be especially important for Dallas Lauderdale to stay out of foul trouble and have an impact on this game.  If Lauderdale can contain Tisdale, his contribution to the Buckeye cause will have been huge.

Last year Ohio State handled Illinois on three separate occasions.  The first two victories occurred during the regular season and were rather lop-sided affairs (72-53, 73-57), but the third encounter was a 88-81 double-OT thriller in the Big Ten Tournament.  Illinois may be looking for some revenge on Saturday, so Ohio State will need to shut down the crowd and any Illini momentum early, because Bruce Weber’s team will certainly not let up if they gain the advantage.

Saturday’s game will get started at 12:00 noon, and can be seen on CBS as one of the weekend’s featured matchups.