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ESPN analyst, former Illini G shares what to expect from Illinois’ defense against OSU in title game

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Illinois and Ohio State will face off for a third game and season tiebreaker with a B1G Tournament Championship on the line.

The two sides in Sunday’s championship game have already played twice this season with each team netting a victory. In January, it was Ohio State shooting 53.7% from the field with E.J. Liddell scoring 26 points in an 87-81 victory for the Buckeyes.

In a March 6 rematch, Illinois turned things around with Ayo Dosunmu and Andre Curbelo both scoring 19 points in the 73-68 Illini victory. Liddell still proved to be a handful in that game, putting in 19 points in the losing effort.

Entering Sunday’s game, former Illinois guard and ESPN analyst Sean Harrington provided a breakdown of what to expect from the Illini when guarding Liddell and Duane Washington Jr. The duo leads Ohio State in scoring at 16.1 points per game and 15.8 points per game, respectively, and both are the catalysts for an extremely efficient offense for the Buckeyes.

Here is what Harrington is watching for from the Illini:

One thing that will make defending Ohio State a bit easier for Illinois will be the absence of Kyle Young who has been ruled out for the contest with a concussion. Even without Young, the Buckeyes downed Michigan in the semifinals, so expect a tough fight for the entire 40 minutes in Indy.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.