No. 13 Illinois isn't resting on
laurels, focuses on Ohio State
Send a link to a friend
[March 15, 2024]
No. 13 Illinois effectively has punched its ticket to the
NCAA Tournament, but don't suggest to coach Brad Underwood that his
team's play in the Big Ten tournament is irrelevant.
After enjoying a bye for the first two rounds, the second-seeded
Fighting Illini (23-8) will meet 10th-seeded Ohio State (20-12)) in
quarterfinal action Friday night in Minneapolis. The Buckeyes never
trailed in their 90-78 upset of seventh-seeded Iowa in the second
round on Thursday night.
"I'm playing to win," Underwood said. "I'm playing to win. I'm
playing to win every damn game we go out and play. You can say it
doesn't mean anything, and the NCAA Tournament is the NCAA
Tournament. As long as we're playing games that the jersey on the
other side says a different university, and it's a different color,
we're trying to play to win.
"I don't buy all the (talk about) rest. ... I'm there to play to
win. I would love to be standing on a ladder trying to cut down a
net on Sunday -- and then try to go do it again."
Illinois already defeated Ohio State in the regular season, but that
was during a different time for the Buckeyes. The Illini marched
into Columbus on Jan. 30 and rolled to an 87-75 triumph as All-Big
Ten wings Terrence Shannon Jr. and Marcus Domask posted 23 points
apiece.
But on Feb. 14, Ohio State fired Chris Holtmann -- who was named
DePaul's head coach Thursday -- and appointed top assistant Jake
Diebler the interim boss. Since that time, the Buckeyes have posted
a 6-1 record that includes wins over projected NCAA Tournament teams
in Purdue, Nebraska and Michigan State.
Ohio State is riding a five-game winning streak.
"Our guys have come together," Diebler said Thursday. "They've
battled. We've raised our toughness and togetherness, and that's
been the biggest difference."
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/ads/current/graue_lda_4_2021.png)
Underwood believes he's seen additional
differences.
"I think they're playing a little faster," he said. "I think they're
3-4 possessions faster (per game). They're playing everybody and
going deeper into their bench. They've got really good players."
Ohio State has ratcheted up its defense, too. Illinois shot 51.7
percent from the field in the teams' Jan. 30 game -- something that
none of Ohio State's opponents have matched since the coaching
change.
The Illini shoot well enough from 3-point range (35.0 percent), and
they get to the free-throw line a good deal while shooting 74.1
percent.
And, of course, they have three All-Big Ten players. Shannon (21.6
ppg) has been a first-team all-league pick two years in a row.
Graduate transfer Domask (16.0 ppg, 3.5 apg) earned first-team
honors from the coaches and a second-team nod from the media. Senior
Coleman Hawkins (12.9 ppg) was a third-team pick by the media.
"You've got to be able to have multiple options," Underwood said.
"You've got to be able to have a guy or two. I like the fact we can
play multiple ways. We can put a five-out lineup that can all shoot
it. We can put some size out there. I like our versatility on that
end a great deal. It's what we've been playing for -- to have that
versatility."
--Field Level Media
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely
responsible for this content.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Mar/15/images/ads/current/ldn_booksda_CHASSKAREN_010924.png)
|