Scouting: Illinois, DePaul, Loyola, UIC basketball
Illinois (18-11, 10-6) at Ohio St. (23-7, 13-4) When: 8 p.m. at Value City Arena TV: ESPNRadio: WIND 560-AM The skinny: If the sixth-ranked Buckeyes win on Senior Night, they'll capture at least a share of their third Big Ten title in the last five seasons and their 20th crown overall. Considering the way Ohio State pulverized Illinois 72-53 on Feb. 14 at Assembly Hall, it seems like a safe bet. The Illini's last lead was 4-3 in that game as they couldn't begin to solve OSU's 1-3-1 zone. Apparently they didn't expect to see so much of it. "The first game, we were even in our right spots where we were supposed to be," said Illinois coach Bruce Weber. He wanted to spend lots of practice time on the zone Sunday and Monday, but he also feared going too long and wearing out his guys. "It's double jeopardy," he said.South Florida (17-11, 7-9) at DePaul (8-20, 1-15) When: 6:30 p.m. at Allstate Arena TV: ESPNURadio: WSCR 670-AM The skinny: Three weeks ago, the Bulls were a popular pick to sneak into the NCAA Tournament field. But after dropping four of their last six games, including a 16-point home loss to St. John's, USF's time has been postponed until next year. Junior guard Dominique Jones (21.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 48 3s) and sophomore center Gus Gilchrist (15.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg), who missed a long stretch with an injury, lead the charge. DePaul junior Mac Koshwal is making a late dash for all-Big East honors. Though he missed four games due to injury, Mac's averaging 15.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals per league game.Loyola (14-15) at Cleveland St. (15-16) When: 6 p.m. Wolstein Center Internet: horizonleaguenetwork.tv Radio: WAUR 930-AM, WNTD 960-AM, WLUW 88.7-FM The skinny: For the third year in a row, the Ramblers own the No. 8 seed in the 10-team Horizon League tournament. That sounds bad, but Loyola has won its opening-round game six of the last seven years. Cleveland State, the No. 5 seed, won both regular-season matchups by a combined 8 points. Sophomore post Walt Gibler (11.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg) was voted the Horizon's Sixth Man of the Year, but he was Loyola's lone honoree. Cleveland State junior guard Norris Cole (16.4 ppg, 4.2 apg) earned first-team all-Horizon honors along with three Butler dudes and Green Bay's Rahmon Fletcher. Advancement: The winner plays the UIC/Milwaukee winner in a 7 p.m. quarterfinal Friday at Butler.UIC (8-21) at Milwaukee (18-13) When: 7 p.m. at Cellular Arena Internet: horizonleaguenetwork.tv Radio: WMVP 1000-AM The skinny: Just three days after Milwaukee edged UIC 78-74 at the Pavilion, the teams meet again in a Horizon League opening-round game. The ninth-seeded Flames, who lost 57-52 on Dec. 3 at Milwaukee, were shut out in the Horizon League postseason honors. Apparently the coaches and media thought junior guard Robo Kreps' 15.0 points per game were offset by his 35.4 percent field-goal shooting. Milwaukee senior guard Ricky Franklin (15.1 ppg, 3.9 apg) received second-team acclaim. Advancement: The winner plays the Loyola/CSU winner in a 7 p.m. quarterfinal Friday at Butler.