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| The Buckeyes need to pull together |
The Illinois Fighting Illini will begin their difficult end to the season tonight with a visit to Value City Arena to battle the eighth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in Big Ten Conference action.
Illinois improved its series record versus the Buckeyes to 103-69 on January 10th with a 79-74 victory over Ohio State at Assembly Hall. Brandon Paul had the third-best scoring performance in Illinois basketball history in the contest as he poured in 43 points after he drained seemingly impossible shots with regularity for 40-straight minutes.
Since the big win over the Buckeyes, Illinois has been struggling, going 1-8. Strangely enough, the Fighting Illini's only win during that span came against the Big Ten Conference's leading Michigan State Spartans. Head coach Bruce Weber's squad saw its overall record drop to 16-11 on Saturday after an 80-57 setback courtesy of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The fifth straight loss for Illinois was caused by a 36-4 run by Nebraska which spanned two halves.
