No. 4 Illinois looks to knock off No. 7 Ohio State

No. 4 Illinois (19-6, 15-4) vs. No. 7 Ohio State (18-7, 12-7)

Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio; Saturday, 4 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: No. 4 Illinois goes for its fifth straight win vs ranked opponents against No. 7 Ohio State. Illinois' last loss vs a ranked opponent came against the then-No. 21 Ohio State Buckeyes 87-81 on Jan. 16. Ohio State has dropped to No. 7 in the latest AP rankings following losses to Michigan State and Iowa last week.

SENIOR STUDS: Ohio State has relied heavily on its seniors this year. E.J. Liddell, Justice Sueing, Kyle Young and CJ Walker have collectively accounted for 53 percent of the team's scoring this year and 61 percent of all Buckeyes points over the last five games.ACCURATE AYO: Ayo Dosunmu has connected on 40 percent of the 70 3-pointers he's attempted. He's also converted 78 percent of his free throws this season.

UNDEFEATED WHEN: Ohio State is a perfect 11-0 when the team blocks at least four opposing shots. The Buckeyes are 7-7 this season when they block fewer than four shots.

ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Buckeyes have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Fighting Illini. Ohio State has 33 assists on 78 field goals (42.3 percent) over its previous three outings while Illinois has assists on 35 of 85 field goals (41.2 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: The Ohio State offense has recorded a turnover on only 15.7 percent of its possessions, which is the 21st-lowest rate in the country. The Illinois defense has forced opposing teams to turn the ball over on just 16.5 percent of all possessions (ranked 311th among Division I teams).

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