Scouting: Ohio St. @ Illinois

Posted January 20, 2011 10:00 pm

By Lindsey Willhite

Ohio St. (19-0, 6-0) at Illinois (14-5, 4-2)

When: 11 a.m. at Assembly Hall

TV: Channel 2

Radio: WIND 560-AM

The skinny: The last two times a No. 1 team came to Assembly Hall, the Illini knocked them off the perch. Of course, those games happened in 2004 (Wake Forest) and 1979 (Michigan State), so those examples aren't necessarily relevant Saturday. Bruce Weber figures he might need to use 15 fouls to slow down OSU freshman Jared Sullinger, but history suggests the more troubling matchup will be with fifth-year senior David Lighty. The 23rd-ranked Illini don't have a starter who matches up with the undersized “4” man — Mike Davis tried the last two years — but Jereme Richmond and/or Brandon Paul could provide the answer off the bench. Here's another wild card: Buckeyes senior shooter Jon Diebler made 17 3-pointers in last year's three meetings. He took all but 1 of his 35 shots from beyond the arc.

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