Ohio State-Illinois: What the Buckeye Win Means for the Big Ten, NCAA Tournament

The Buckeyes buried an unprepared Fighting Illini team today with a barrage of threes. Jon Diebler was 6-11 from behind the arc for 18 points, as the Buckeyes shot 50 percent from three-point range.

David Lighty also caught fire, going for 17 points including a 3-5 performance from the perimeter.

Evan Turner continues to impress and was just two assists shy of his third triple-double on the season. He finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Turner has earned a Big Ten Player of the Year trophy this season, even if he doesn’t win one.

The Buckeyes shot 53 percent from the field as they cruised in the second half after going into the half up 36-20.  They went on to outscore the Illini 36-33 on their way to a 72-53 win in Champagne.

Illinois couldn’t handle the Buckeye defense and for the first time this season didn’t have one player in double figures. They shot an abysmal 34 percent from the field and an even worse 16 percent from three-point range.

This was a huge road win for the Buckeyes, who have struggled most of the season away from home. They even their road record to 5-5 on the season, and looked impressive doing it.

This win puts them in a tie for first with Michigan State, with Purdue trailing both by half a game. Illinois and Wisconsin both sit one game back, and Ohio State hosts the Illini the last game of conference play.

Both OSU and MSU play Purdue, but the one difference is Michigan State has to go on the road to face the surging Boilermaker team.

The Buckeyes have a very manageable schedule besides the Purdue and Illinois games. They host a struggling Michigan team and a dreadful Penn State team.

Michigan State, much like the Buckeyes, plays Michigan and Penn State before the end of the season. They trade Illinois for Indiana on their schedule, but it's still very similar to Ohio State.

The two teams meet up in East Lansing on February 21, in what could be a psuedo championship game for the Big Ten.

Judging by how these two teams are playing and the remaining schedule, Ohio State looks to be in the best position to win the regular season Big Ten Championship. The winner of the upcoming matchup with Purdue will go a long way in deciding the true champion.

Both Wisconsin and Illinois are dark horse candidates right now, and both play each other for the last game of their regular season. Wisconsin has the better chance of the two, based on remaining schedule alone.

The NCAA Tournament should expect four teams for sure right now, with both Illinois and Northwestern sitting on the bubble. This Fighting Illini need a few more wins, but with the remaining schedule, they’ll be tough to come by.

Northwestern didn’t do itself any favors by losing to Iowa this week, but still have a very favorable schedule here on out.