Two-time Illinois Mr. Basketball E.J. Liddell Lead Buckeyes Past Illini 71-63

The worst nightmare for all followers of the Illinois men’s basketball program took place Thursday night.

A two-time Illinois Mr. Basketball selection, who turned down the recruiting efforts of Illini head coach Brad Underwood’s program, led a rival Big Ten program to victory as E.J. Liddell denied the home state school any likely chance at a league title. Liddell’s first career double-double helped carry No. 19 Ohio State to a second-half comeback in a 71-63 win. The No. 23 Illini hit a frustrating eight-minute second-half offensive lull that included just three field goals and just eight points. During that head-scratching stretch, Ohio State (21-9, 11-8 Big Ten) managed to turn a four-point deficit into an eight-point lead led by six points by Liddell that included a roaring put-back dunk that got the home crowd of Value City Arena on their feet.

“Today his offense and defense were critical,” Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said. “He was phenomenal and now we have to see if he can keep doing that.”

The fact that Liddell was wearing an opposing jersey despite being the star at Belleville (Ill.) West High School wasn’t for a lack of effort by the home state program. While helping the Maroons program get to Peoria where they’d win the Class 4A state championships in 2017-18 and 2018-19, the 6-foot-7 Liddell went on an official campus visit in Champaign just one month before committing to the Buckeyes recruiting class.

“We recruited E.J. We know how good he is,” Underwood said. “He got extended minutes because of (Kaleb) Wesson’s (foul) trouble in the first half. He found a little groove, and that gives them a completely different look.”

Liddell’s effort off the bench undercut another superstar effort from Illinois sophomore guard Ayo Dosunmu as the Chicago native scored 14 of his 21 points in the first half as Illinois (20-10, 12-7) carried a 37-30 lead at the break.

Dosunmu, who had led the Illini to road wins at Wisconsin, Purdue, Michigan and Northwestern, ended the evening 9 of 14 from the field but didn’t get much help from his friends. The rest of the Illini roster not named Ayo Dosunmu was 14 of 41 from the field and 5 of 19 from three-point range.

“We just didn’t make shots,” Underwood said. “Besides Ayo going 9 of 14, we’ve got to have some other guys step up there.”

Wesson had 15 of his 19 points coming in the final 20 minutes of play after the preseason All-Big Ten Conference selection was dominated through the first half by Illinois freshman center Kofi Cockburn. Foul trouble and the perimeter game of Wesson stymied the Illini’s 7-foot, 290-pound post presence. Cockburn was only able to stay on the court eight minutes before picking up his second foul and spending the remainder of the first half on the bench. Giorgi Bezhanishvili and Kipper Nichols, who were looked on for frontcourt depth in the first half, each picked up a trio of fouls before the halftime break.

“We got off to a very tough start, with a lot, a lot of foul trouble,” Underwood said. “That’s a credit to Ohio State. We had lineups out there that all you guys who cover us haven’t seen.”

Illinois will now host Iowa in the regular season finale Sunday night (6 p.m., BTN) in a matchup that will determine the final top four seed double-bye in the upcoming conference tournament in Indianapolis next week.