An exciting weekend of college basketball continues Sunday when No. 18 Illinois plays host to Ohio State in a marquee Big Ten matchup on CBS. This will mark the only scheduled meeting between the Fighting Illini and the Buckeyes this season and will be a rematch of Illinois’ 77-74 win over Ohio State in last season’s conference tournament.
Illinois has dropped four of its last six games, including a loss earlier this week on the road to Nebraska. During their cold streak, the Fighting Illini have suffered losses against USC, Michigan State, Maryland, and Nebraska. Illinois is 6-5 in conference play.
Ohio State enters the weekend on a three-game winning streak. The Buckeyes started their win streak with a comeback win on the road against Purdue and have since defeated Iowa and Penn State to improve to 5-5 in Big Ten play.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of this weekend’s matchup.
How to watch Illinois vs. Ohio State live
Date: Sunday, Feb. 2 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: State Farm Center — Champaign, Illinois
TV: CBS | Live stream: CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App (Free)
Streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime (Try It Free)
Illinois vs. Ohio State prediction, picks
Odds via SportsLine consensus
Ohio State has been outstanding during its winning streak. The comeback win on the road against Purdue fueled blowout wins over Iowa and Penn State. This matchup against Illinois will be arguably Ohio State’s toughest challenge during that stretch. This game will come down to guard play between Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton and Illinois’ Kasparas Jakučionis. Illinois wins this game behind a big day from Jakučionis and snaps Ohio State’s win streak. Pick: Illinois -6.5
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