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Ohio St.-Illinois Preview

Feb 13, 2010 - 9:01 PM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

Ohio State (19-6) at Illinois (17-8), 1:00 p.m. EDT

With its ninth straight conference victory, Ohio State will move back into a first-place tie atop the Big Ten. The 13th-ranked Buckeyes, though, will have to defeat a red-hot Illinois team that's looking to do the same.

Ohio State will try to prevent the Illini from posting three consecutive conference victories against top-15 foes for the first time in nearly 21 years.

Since losing three of four to open their conference schedule, the Buckeyes (19-6, 9-3) have won eight straight in Big Ten play. Ohio State and Illinois (17-8, 9-3) trail No. 10 Michigan State by one-half game for first place following the Spartans' 65-54 victory at Penn State on Saturday.

"There's no need to mention that, they're smart enough to figure that out," coach Thad Matta said of the tight race at the top of the Big Ten.

Matta's team is also smart enough to know that junior Evan Turner is vital to its success. The Buckeyes are 16-3 when he plays compared to the 3-3 mark they posted when he missed six games from Dec. 12-Jan. 3 with a back injury.

Ohio State, though, proved it can succeed without a huge effort from the Big Ten's second-leading scorer (19.2 points per game) and top rebounder (9.3). Saddled with two fouls in the opening 2:35, Turner played only 21 minutes and scored 10 points Wednesday, but the Buckeyes won 69-52 at Indiana.

Sophomore William Buford had 21 points and seven rebounds, and Dallas Lauderdale added a career high-tying 14 points and eight boards.

Turner, though, would surely like to put together a big performance Sunday as he squares off against Illinois star Demetri McCamey, his former teammate at St. Joseph High School in suburban Chicago. McCamey has averaged 20.8 points in the last four games, raising his team-leading average to 15.8.

The junior totaled 49 points and 18 assists in the last two games as the Illini knocked off Michigan State and No. 11 Wisconsin.

"He has been big down the stretch, there's no doubt about it," Matta said of McCamey, who tops the Big Ten with 6.4 assists per game.

Illinois faces four more ranked teams in its final six regular-season games, including a March 2 matchup at Ohio State.

"Our last stretch is real tough, we've got three of the top 15 teams in the country - Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State," McCamey said after scoring 27 points in Tuesday's 65-56 win at Wisconsin. "We got two, and we're trying to get another Sunday to make it even sweeter and keep us in the race for the Big Ten championship."

If McCamey can lead the Illini to their sixth straight win Sunday, it will be the first time since March 1989 that Illinois has posted three straight conference victories against top-15 teams.

The Illini, though, have dropped five in a row against ranked Buckeyes teams since an 80-77 victory over then-No. 13 Ohio State on. Jan. 6, 2000, at Assembly Hall.

Illinois is 12-1 at home this season and 60-23 all-time against Ohio State in Champaign.

The Buckeyes lost both meetings last season after winning the previous five. If they end that skid, they will extend the program record with their sixth straight 20-win season.