No. 4 Illinois positioned itself to race first in the 2021 NCAA tournament after following its road victory against No. 2 Michigan with a victory against No. 7 Ohio State in Columbus. Guard Ayo Dosunmu returned to the team and helped Fighting Illini win 9-0 by 73-68.
A 3-point EJ Liddell with 3:48 left gave Ohio State a 68-64 lead that seemed to indicate a final turn in the tide in a second half that saw the Buckeyes take control of the game. The great Illinois man, Kofi Cockburn, had not been as dominant as in the first half and the Buckeyes, especially Liddell, started playing with some real confidence on the offensive side of the court. The tone in the final media timeout was suggested that a consecutive Buckeyes victory was in the cards, but a 3:48 goalless ending left Chris Holtmann and the State of Ohio with a fourth consecutive defeat in the Big Ten Tournament.
One of the biggest keys to the game of Illinois in the final stretch in this round-trip battle between the top 10 teams was the presence of Dosunmu, who scored the green basket 44 seconds from the end and led Illinois with 19 points out of 7 – by -10 shots. The junior played 36 minutes in his first game back from a facial injury that cost him three games, and when it came to those possessions at the decisive moment, it was clear that Illinois was happy to be closer to the ground.
For the state of Ohio, the loss probably eliminates him from the 1-seed contest, while Illinois approaches securing a place in the top row for Sunday’s selection. The victory, along with the victory against Michigan, also cemented Illinois’s status as a true national championship contender worthy of mention alongside Gonzaga, Baylor and the Wolverines.