Coming off their second loss in three games, the Ohio State Buckeyes took out some frustration on Illinois in an 89-70 shellacking. This was a magnificent offensive performance for Thad Matta's team, as they turned it over just three times in a 63 possession game for a Wisconsin-like 4.8 turnover rate. The Buckeyes used all those error-free trips to shoot 55 percent on twos and 47 percent on threes. The resulting 1.42 points per possession matches a lofty level they've reached only three times this season (previously against Tennessee-Martin and Florida). Offense doesn't get much better than this.

Still, even with the Buckeyes pouring in the points, Illinois scored with them for long stretches. In fact, the outcome of this game hinged on two big Ohio State runs: the first came with six minutes left in the first half. Illinois was down only three points, but the Buckeyes finished on a 14-2 run spanning nine possessions. The Illini turned it over three times in their eight offensive trips. Ohio State took a close game and turned it into a 15 point halftime lead.

The other big surge came with just under 15 minutes left in the game. Illinois had come out of halftime playing a triangle-and-two, and it was working--the Ohio State lead had been trimmed to six points and Illinois was gaining in confidence. From that point, however, David Lighty went on a personal 13-2 run that took only three minutes of clock time. Illinois contributed greatly to the run by turning it over five times in their six possessions, with four of them being steals that lead directly to quick Ohio State points.

To sum it up, those two runs totalled a 27-4 advantage for the Buckeyes, and they took less than nine minutes of clock time. Illinois turned it over eight times on those 14 trips. For the other 31 minutes, Illinois controlled their turnovers and actually outscored the Buckeyes, but those bursts were so dominant that it didn't matter.

Lighty finished with 21 points (16 shots) and a whopping six steals. Jared Sullinger was actually defended fairly well by the Illini, but he still finished with 12 points and 11 boards. Aaron Craft contributed 12 points, 6 assists, and no turnovers.

When Illinois didn't give the ball to Ohio State, they scored extremely well, shooting 52 percent on both twos and threes. If there's one positive for the Illini to take out of this game, it's that their shooting returned after four straight games below a point per possession. Illinois finished with a 1.12 efficiency despite their 25 percent turnover rate.

Demetri McCamey epitomized the Illinois attack, scoring 15 points and dishing 6 assists but turning it over 5 times. Mike Davis posted 18 points and 7 rebounds, while Jereme Richmond had 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Illinois fans had to be expecting a loss in Columbus, but the final margin couldn't have been encouraging. The at-large formula for the Illini remains the same--win at home against Iowa and Indiana and they are probably in. Lose either of those games and things get very dicey (barring a win at Purdue).

For Ohio State, this was a welcome return to offensive dominance after some tough road games. The Buckeye defense of late has been a bit troubling--opponents have scored 1.12 ppp or better in three of the last four--but a lot of that has to do with the schedule. Ohio State maintains their one game lead over Purdue, and they now have a 61 percent chance of winning out to clinch the outright title.

In the night's other game, two bubble teams battled in Minneapolis, with Michigan State stealing a big one from Minnesota 53-48. This game started out ugly, with the Spartans leading 3-2 after five full minutes. The offenses got better after that, but not by much. Both teams shot poorly, turned it over too often, and got almost nothing on the offensive glass. Still, somebody was going to win this defensive struggle, and the "W" on the schedule would be much more lasting than the memories of how the game was played.

Minnesota used a 9-0 run, spearheaded by Chip Armelin and aided by Michigan State turnovers, to take an eight point lead with just four and half minutes remaining. The Gophers were a decent stretch run from their seventh conference victory, which would have put them in position to reach nine wins by simply winning out at home. Instead, Minnesota went 0 for 5 from the field, scoring only one point over the final 4:30 as Michigan State surged ahead at the foul line.

The Spartans owe this big win to their great defense, which held Minnesota to their lowest output of the season (0.78 points per possession). Michigan State's defense has been much improved since their spanking at Wisconsin, and it is keying their push for the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans are now almost assured of reaching nine conference wins, and they have about a 50/50 shot of getting to 10 or 11. Barring a collapse, it seems likely that Tom Izzo's team will be dancing in March.

Kalin Lucas continued his fantastic conference season with 18 points on 16 shots and 4 steals. Lucas has played himself into All-Big Ten consideration, although the competition is stiff at the top. Draymond Green chipped in 7 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 steals.

Minnesota was led by Trevor Mbakwe's 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Chip Armelin scored 12 points on 6 shots. Blake Hoffarber had another off-night, shooting just 1 for 8 from the field for 5 points, but he did dish 6 assists to just 1 turnover.

Minnesota is now backed into a corner as far as their at-large hopes go with a 6-9 conference record, but all is not lost. Their three remaining games are all winnable (Michigan, at Northwestern, Penn State), although Pomeroy's odds give the Gophers just a 21 percent chance of sweeping all three. Minnesota has a good enough nonconference resume that they could still get at-large consideration with an 8-10 mark, but they'd do well to win out and avoid that scenario.

Tonight, it's a very big Super Wednesday on the Big Ten Network, and we'll once again be liveblogging the whole thing. At 5:30pm CT, Wisconsin visits a surging Michigan team that could really use this game for their resume. Wisconsin hasn't had a great time on the road lately, losing at Purdue and Penn State and needing overtime to win at Iowa, so this game certainly looks like a challenge for the Badgers.

At 7:30pm CT, it's a big rivalry game as Purdue visits Indiana. The Boilermakers are looking to keep pace with Ohio State and keep the pressure on. The Hoosiers haven't had much go their way lately, but a win over their in-state rivals would certainly excite the fanbase. A victory would also likely keep the Hoosiers out of the #11 seed for the Big Ten Tournament. Expect a raucous crowd in Bloomington.

- Posted by Mike Portscheller