E.J. Liddell’s ‘Flu Game’ Leads Ohio State To Crucial Win At Illinois

Liddell scored 21 points, pulled down six rebounds and blocked four shots after being hospitalized this week.

Author:
Andrew Lind
Feb 25, 2022 1:34 PM EST

In the hours leading up to Thursday night’s game at Illinois, Ohio State junior forward E.J. Liddell was listed as questionable with the flu. But based on his play in the 86-83 win over the Fighting Illini, you would never know he spent time in the hospital earlier this week.

In fact, Liddell led the team with 21 points, six rebounds and four blocks while guarding one of the best players in the conference in Illinois junior center Kofi Cockburn. That includes a pair of clutch free throws that put the Buckeyes up by four with 31 seconds remaining.

“He’s a tremendous talent and a tremendous kid,” head coach Chris Holtmann said during his postgame press conference. “My man needed fluids the night after the IU game. He was in the hospital for a little bit. It turned out it was just the flu, but he had a lot of fatigue.

“He was fine, he was good enough to play. If he wouldn’t have played well, he’d have said, ‘Hey, it’s on me.’ There would have been no excuses, but give him credit for really knocking down those two free throws, which were critical.”

Liddell said after the game he considered not playing on Thursday night, but with Ohio State just one game back in the loss column of first place in the Big Ten and only four games remaining on the schedule, he knew he couldn’t sit this one out.

“I just took a nap, talked to my mom before I got here and I played,” Liddell said. “It’s going take a lot for me to not play a basketball game, but I just knew I had to come out here and play 100 percent if I was going to play.”

When Liddell stepped to the line for the aforementioned free throws, the Belleville, Ill., heard boos and chants of “traitor” and "E.J. sucks" from the student section. He then calmly knocked down both, sealing the Buckeyes’ first victory over a ranked opponent since a home win against Wisconsin on Dec. 11.

“I like shooting free throws in those moments,” Liddell said. “I feel like I’ve made a lot of free throws in those moments. It was a hostile crowd. It was nice. I liked playing in it. It was really cool, really loud. It was a great environment in there, so I had fun.”

Liddell ignored his symptoms for a few hours and led Ohio State to its biggest win in two months. Now, he has to rest up for a stretch that includes four games in eight days, starting with the Buckeyes’ final road game of the season on Sunday against Maryland.

“How do I feel right now? Right now, I feel happy,” Liddell said. “I don’t know how I’m going to feel in 30 minutes, but as of right now, I’m enjoying this win.”

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