Three Key Stats That Reveal How Illinois' Outlasted Ohio State

No. 13 Illinois (8-2, 1-0 Big Ten) went into Columbus and stayed in control of Tuesday's game against Ohio State (7-2, 1-1) almost from the opening tip to the final buzzer, ultimately prevailing by a score of 88-80 in the Illini’s 2025-26 conference opener. Here are three key stats that decided the contest:

Three key numbers from Illinois' victory vs. Ohio State

Dec 9, 2025; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Kylan Boswell (4) celebrates as time winds down on the win against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Illinois’ made threes: 11

In back-to-back games, Illinois has connected on double-digit threes against high-major foes, shooting 39 percent or better in both. On Tuesday, it was an all-around effort, with Zvonimir Ivisic canning two, Keaton Wagler connecting on three and David Mirkovic leading the way with a 4-for-5 night from long range.

It’s fairly straightforward: if you make shots, you win games. If the Illini can continue to shoot at this clip, or even just consistently hover around the 30- to 40-percent range, they will find themselves on the right side of the scoreboard at an extremely high rate moving forward.

Called and said good night. pic.twitter.com/pXPeKNTtTF
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) December 10, 2025

Ohio State’s non-Bruce Thornton shooting percentage: 34.1 percent

Perhaps we are cherry-picking. It does feel a bit wrong to completely disregard one player – especially when that individual went 13-for-17 and hung 34 points on Illinois. But in reality, the Illini did a pretty good job on Thornton. Scorers with his off-the-charts ability are occasionally going to get scorching-hot even when locked up like Fort Knox, and that’s exactly what happened in Thornton's case Tuesday night.

But in general, Illinois was fairly solid defensively, which is reflected in the non-Thornton shooting percentage: 34.1 percent. Across the board, the Illini have been surprisingly impressive in one-on-one defensive situations, and they continue to run teams off the three-point line and force tough twos while playing stellar help defense on top of it all.

Illinois’ free-throw percentage: 90.6

Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood motions to his team during the first half of the NCAA men's basketball game against the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus on Dec. 9, 2025. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In a contest (unnecessarily) dominated by the officials, Illinois and Ohio State combined for 48 total personal fouls. The Illini, based purely on free-throw line attempts and percentage, were the clear winner of the majority of the whistles, and they were able to capitalize at a much higher clip than the Buckeyes.

Connecting on 29 of 32 freebies (90.6 percent), Illinois was able to hold on to its lead over the home squad during the foul-ridden second half. And, sometimes, a game just comes down to free throws. Shooting 90-plus percent from the charity stripe on high volume as a team is practically unheard of, but the Illini did just that, and, subsequently, won the game.