What time does Ohio State play Illinois? What you need to know ahead of Big Ten championship
On Sunday, in the hours before finding out their placement in the NCAA tournament, the No. 5 seed Ohio State Buckeyes will take on the No. 2 seed Fighting Illini for the Big Ten title.
OSU made it to the conference title game with yet another nail-biting win over the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday. Sunday's game will mark their first Big Ten tournament championship appearance since 2013.
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Illinois got past Iowa 82-71 on Saturday. Illinois (22-6) has won six straight, with three coming against top-10 foes. The title would be its first since 2005.
Here's what you need to know ahead of the game:
When is the Ohio State-Illinois game?
The Big Ten championship game will tip off at 3:30 on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
How do I watch live?
You can find the Buckeyes' game on CBS.
Cable cutters, you can get the game on Fubo, Sling and Hulu Live. There are free trials available for Fubo and Hulu.
What happened last time the Buckeyes and Illini met?
It hasn't been long since Ohio State and Illinois last faced off.
On Saturday, March 6, a late scoring surge from Illinois — and nine missed shots from the Buckeyes — led to a 73-68 Illini victory on senior day at Value City Arena.
It was the loss that set Ohio State up for its No. 5 tournament seed, part of a four-game skid to finish the regular season.
What else you need to know before the game
It's unlikely that senior Kyle Young will play, having sustained a concussion Friday against Purdue. Coach Chris Holtmann didn’t specifically say Young would miss Sunday’s championship game, but he made it clear he won’t be playing.
The Buckeyes' biggest challenge will be overcoming its recent late-game scoring issues.
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Some numbers of the Buckeye season:
- Ohio State has played 125 minutes of basketball in the last three days.
- The Buckeyes have led for a combined 106:23.
- The Buckeyes have trailed for a total of 8:27, 7:42 of which was in the Michigan game. Minnesota never led Ohio State and Purdue led for 45 seconds.
- Ohio State has at least one win against every Big Ten team this season.