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The Illinois Fighting Illini (13-2; 3-1 Big Ten) will be put to the test this Wednesday when they take on the No. 19 Ohio State Buckeyes (13-2; 3-1 Big Ten). The game will be televised via the B1G+ streaming service, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
In defeating the No. 7 Maryland Terrapins (15-1; 3-1 Big Ten) last weekend, the Illini did something they hadn’t done in over a decade: beat a team ranked in the AP top 10. Their last such victory came in 2014 against the Kentucky Wildcats, and while head coach Shauna Green insists that the Illini are trying to keep a level head amidst their recent success, it surely inspires confidence in a program that had essentially been a non-factor in the Big Ten for years.
“You can’t get too high or too low. You’ve got to really stay centered,” Green told media after the game, acknowledging that there aren’t many easy opponents in the Big Ten. “You’ve got to utilize this win for momentum and confidence.”
Whatever Green and her staff are doing to instill that confidence in their players, it’s working. Illinois has turned things around in remarkably short order under her leadership, having recently won their first NCAA Tournament game since 2003. And if the start of Big Ten play is any indication, the Illini aren’t done growing yet.
Their next test will be a game against the Buckeyes, for whom it’s been business as usual. Ohio State has been one of the most consistently competitive programs in the Big Ten for decades, and though the Buckeyes lost several key players from last season’s team, including as Cotie McMahon (who transferred to Ole Miss) and Taylor Thierry (who was drafted to the WNBA), they once again find themselves ranked in the AP Top 25.
This season, it’s Jaloni Cambridge who has taken the reins. The sophomore guard has built upon her Big Ten Freshman of the Year award by posting improved scoring numbers (19.4 points per game; 50.2 percent field goal percentage) and spearheading an aggressive Buckeyes defense that thrives at creating turnovers and manufacturing transition opportunities. Cambridge is one of three Buckeyes (Kennedy Cambridge and Ava Watson the others) averaging better than two steals per game, and as a team Ohio State ranks No. 14 in the country in steal rate (15.6 percent; Her Hoop Stats).
While their personnel has changed, the Buckeyes’ approach to winning basketball games hasn’t. They typically want to play at a fast pace and wear their opponents down with their defense, and that’s something the Illini struggled against in their previous meeting with Ohio State in Dec. 2024. Despite big games from Genesis Bryant and Kendall Bostic (both of whom have graduated), Illinois committed 19 turnovers, ultimately falling to the Buckeyes at home.
This season’s Illini are out to prove they’ve taken that next step and can now hang with the Big Ten’s best. Though they, too, have had to replace much of their previous core (the aforementioned Bryant and Bostic, in particular), much-improved sophomore Berry Wallace and dynamic freshman Destiny Jackson have done their part in not only keeping their team afloat, but leading it to newfound success. We’ll see just how sustainable that success is on Wednesday.
