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No. 6 Ohio St looks for rare road win at Illinois

Jan 6, 2007 - 3:36 PM No. 6 Ohio State (12-2) at Illinois (12-4) 2:0 pm EST

CHAMPAIGN, Illinois (Ticker) -- Two days before Ohio State plays for college football's national championship, its basketball team takes center stage.

The sixth-ranked Buckeyes go for their seventh victory in eight games and first at Illinois in nearly eight years in Saturday's Big Ten Conference matchup.

Averaging 81.4 points, Ohio State has won all 10 home games and lost at North Carolina on November 29 and at Florida on December 23 in battles against ranked opponents.

The Buckeyes have lost 10 of the last 11 road matchups against the Fighting Illini. The lone win was on January 30, 1999.

Freshman Greg Oden scored a career-high 21 points, Othello Hunter added 14 and Mike Conley Jr. collected 10 assists for Ohio State, which won its conference opener in Tuesday's 74-67 victory over Indiana.

After losses against Maryland and Arizona, Illinois won five in a row in December before back-to-back defeats to Xavier and Michigan.

Jamar Smith scored 17 points, Warren Carter added 14 and Chester Frazier 11 for the Fighting Illini, who shot 38 percent (20-of-53) from the floor in Wednesday's 71-61 loss to the Wolverines in their Big Ten opener.

Illinois has won 51 of its last 55 conference home games and is 101-5 at Assembly Hall since the start of the 1999-2000 campaign.