Illinois walked into Columbus, Ohio, and put up a fight against No. 17 Ohio State.
But putting up a fight just won’t cut it against a surprisingly talented Buckeyes team like this one, and the Illini fell 75-69, ending their two-game conference winning streak.
Keita Bates-Diop put Ohio State on his back and scored a career-high 35-points while collecting 13 rebounds. Illinois simply had no answer for the Big Ten Player of the Year candidate.
The top performer for Illini —to what is probably a surprise to everyone — was senior guard Mark Alstork, who led the team in scoring with 19 points.