Illinois Rallies From 10-Point, Second-Half Deficit To Defeat Ohio State
The Illinois Fighting Illini were facing a hungrier team Friday in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament.
Turns out, the Illini were even hungrier.
They rallied from a 10-point, second-half deficit to defeat Ohio State 77-74 at Target Center in Minneapolis.
"We stunk," Illini coach Brad Underwood said in the postgame interview. "We didn't play very well."
Terrence Shannon led the Illini with 28 points but it was Dain Dainja putting on a late show in his hometown. He finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, with most of the work coming in the second half.
The Illini trailed 56-46 with 10 minutes, 37 seconds left in the game. The offense eventually got going behind Dainja and Shannon. Things still looked bleak when Ohio State's Jameson Battle hit a step-back 3-pointer to put his team ahead 74-71.
After the Illini scored on the next possession, Coleman Hawkins came up with perhaps the biggest play. He blocked Battle from behind and was then fouled. Hawkins made both free throws to give the Illini a 75-74 lead, their first of the second half. Battle then missed two late 3-point attempts that would have forced overtime.
The loss likely ended the season for Ohio State, which was going after the automatic bid from winning the conference title. The Illini, who will play Nebraska or Indiana in the next round, can now working on improving their seeding in next week's NCAA Tournament.
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Illini Now. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com