Illinois gets tough, tops No. 8 Buckeyes
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Just before halftime on Saturday, Illinois point guard Tracy Abrams crashed into the Ohio State bench chasing a loose ball. After bending over in pain for a long minute, he hobbled off the court without the ball.
Abrams' tough play already had the respect of first-year Fighting Illini coach John Groce.
And after a game full of hard-nosed efforts, No. 11 Illinois had a 74-55 blowout victory over No. 8 Ohio State, just days after dropping its Big Ten opener - and getting out-toughed, as Groce put it - to Purdue.
"Oh, I love it - that's toughness plays, passion, inspiring plays," Groce said. "Any time a guy sacrifices his body to make a play for his team, that's the highest level of teamism - I don't know if that's a word."
The win by Illinois (14-2, 1-1 Big Ten) came at the expense of Groce's former boss, Buckeyes coach Thad Matta. Groce was an assistant to Matta at Ohio State before taking over as coach at Ohio.
Brandon Paul led Illinois with 19 points and had seven rebounds. Nnanna Egwu had a career-high 16 points and eight rebounds, and Abrams added 13 points and five assists.
The Illini started fast and led 37-25 at halftime. They used a 13-2 run early in the second half to build a 50-27 lead.
Illinois' stingy defense shut down the Buckeyes, who shot 33 percent from the field and turned the ball over 16 times.
Deshaun Thomas led Ohio State (11-3, 1-1) with 24 points, but beyond him, the Buckeyes struggled for offense.
The Buckeyes scratched their way back within 60-46, but a 7-0 run capped by a dunk by Egwu pushed the lead to 67-46 with 4:52 to play.
"They played good defense, and we could never get that one bucket to kind of free us up a little bit, free our minds a little bit," Matta said.
AROUND THE NATION
• WILDCATS HANG ON - At Tucson, Ariz., Solomon Hill had 19 points, and Mark Lyons hit two free throws with 7.2 seconds left to lift No. 3 Arizona (14-0, 2-0 Pac-12) to a 60-57 victory over Utah (8-6, 0-2).
• BEARCATS FALL AT HOME - At Cincinnati, D'Angelo Harrison's jumper with 29 seconds to play lifted St. John's (9-5, 1-1 Big East) to a 53-52 victory over No. 14 Cincinnati (13-2, 1-1).
• HOYAS COME UP SHORT - At Milwaukee, Davante Gardner made two free throws with 8.3 seconds left, and Marquette (11-3, 2-0 Big East) held on for a 49-48 victory over No. 15 Georgetown (10-2, 0-1).
• MCGRUDER LIFTS K-STATE - At Manhattan, Kan., Rodney McGruder scored 26 of his 28 points in the second half, leading No. 25 Kansas State (12-2, 1-0 Big 12) to a 73-67 victory over No. 22 Oklahoma State (10-3, 0-1).
FAR WEST
• COUGARS RALLY - At San Francisco, Matt Carlino and Tyler Haws each scored 22 points, and Brigham Young (12-4, 2-0 West Coast) overcame a nine-point halftime deficit for an 80-76 win over San Francisco (8-7, 0-2).
