Back-to-back E.J. Liddell buckets gave Ohio State a 5-0 lead. A jumper and a 3-pointer from Justice Sueing extended it to 10-0. By the end of the sixth minute, Ohio State had raced out to an unimpeachable 22-0 advantage on Illinois State that effectively ended anybody's idea that the 2020-21 season-opener would turn into anything other than a rout.
Powered by Sueing's game-high 19 points and Liddell's 16, the Buckeyes led by at least 14 points the remainder of the game and pulled ahead for an uneventful 94-67 victory on Wednesday afternoon at the Schottenstein Center.
Ohio State, playing its first game since losing at Michigan State on March 8, earned its first win in 265 days.