No. 25 Ohio St. Upends No. 12 Illinois, 78-67 – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/29/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan 29, 2002
Box Score| Quotes| Notes
Post Game audio:
Head Coach Jim O’Brien
Illinois Head Coach Bill Self
By RUSTY MILLER
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Brent Darby thought he let Ohio State down, so he it was only right that he pick the Buckeyes up.
Darby scored 22 points – making 16 of 18 free throws and a pivotal jumper with 2 minutes left – as No. 25 Ohio State beat No. 12 Illinois 78-67 Tuesday night.
The Buckeyes watched the videos of Saturday’s 89-71 loss at Minnesota, and Darby felt it was his poor play that cost them the game.
“He took that to heart,” coach Jim O’Brien said. “He has a lot of pride. He felt like he let us down.”
Only two Ohio State players have ever made more free throws in a game. Gary Bradds converted 18 against Michigan State in 1964, and Dennis Hopson made 17 against Wisconsin in 1987.
Darby, who hit half of his six shots from the field, also had seven rebounds and five assists.
“Saturday’s game lit a fire under me,” he said. “I was disappointed in my performance, especially on defense. I came out and showed today that I was focused, that I was ready.”
The loss dropped the Illini (15-6, 4-4 Big Ten) three games behind co-leaders Indiana and Ohio State (16-3, 7-1) in the conference. It also gave them more losses this season than they had all last year when they shared the conference title with Michigan State.
“I told our players, `Let’s not talk about the league race, let’s just talk about getting better every day,”‘ Illinois coach Bill Self said.
Zach Williams added 14 points, and Brian Brown had 13 for the Buckeyes, who had a nine-game winning streak and a 13-game Big Ten winning streak stopped by Minnesota.
Ohio State improved to 11-2 against ranked opponents in Value City Arena.
“Not too many teams are going to win here,” Self said. “But it’s not the place, it’s the players. This is an awesome place, an awesome setting. But if they don’t guard people so well out there then it’s not so awesome playing here. It’s Darby, Brown and the coaching.”
The Buckeyes made just one field goal in the final five minutes, a big one by Darby.
Robert Archibald, who scored 16 points for the Illini, hit a shot inside with 3:16 left and then made the first of two foul shots after Ohio State missed a shot. Illinois’ Frank Williams, who also finished with 16 points, hit a 10-foot fadeaway and was fouled with 2:50 left. His three-point play cut the Buckeyes’ lead to 70-63.
After the teams traded possessions, Darby hit a 15-foot jumper off the dribble from the left wing.
“It was the biggest bucket of the game,” O’Brien said. “We had nothing going on offense. We were back on our heels. He froze his defender, backed off and hit the jumper and that stopped the bleeding.”
Brown added, “Brent was great. He stepped up and made his free throws, then he stepped back and make a big jumper at the end.”
The lead never dropped below seven again, with Darby hitting four free throws in the final 39 seconds.
“Maybe I got into a rhythm,” Darby said. “It was like being in a gym practicing by yourself. Every time I stepped up to the line I told myself, `I’m going to make it.”‘
Ohio State made its first 10 free throws, but had trouble after getting into the double-bonus with 10 minutes remaining, hitting just one of six. The Buckeyes finished 29 of 42 at the line.
Illinois was coming off an 88-57 loss at Indiana on Saturday in which the Hoosiers made a Big Ten-record 17 3-pointers.
In the first half, Ohio State did more than just outplay the Illini on the perimeter, as Indiana had on Saturday. The Buckeyes had 11 assists to one for Illinois, and inside they outrebounded the taller Illini 16-8.
Ohio State led 17-15 when it pulled away for good on Sean Connolly’s 3-pointer and a jumper by Brown.
After the teams traded missed shots, the Buckeyes scored on seven consecutive possessions. Will Dudley scored six points in the 16-4 run. The Illini hit just one of six shots from the field over the span of more than five minutes, while the Buckeyes made all seven of theirs.
Ohio State led by as many as 19 points before settling for a 42-27 lead at the break. That gave the Buckeyes room to hang on at the finish.
“Did the clock seem like it wasn’t moving?” O’Brien said with a laugh. “It just seemed like it took forever.”
