COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — – The Buckeyes won’t take the bait.
Yes, they know a home win over Illinois on Sunday afternoon coupled with an Indiana loss later in the day at Michigan would leave them in a multi-team tie for the Big Ten championship.
But they refuse to let anyone think they’re getting ahead of themselves by saying they’ll be rooting for the archrival Wolverines. Instead, the party line is that No. 14 Ohio State is concentrating on taking care of its own business first.
“I’m only focused on the game at 12:30 against Illinois on Sunday,” said Evan Ravenel, Ohio State’s only senior, who will be playing his final home game at Value City Arena. “I’m not really focused on what everybody else does.”
Coach Thad Matta declined to even address a possible fourth consecutive Big Ten title and sixth in eight years.
“I’ll be honest with you, I just want to play well on Sunday. That is where our focus is completely,” he said. “We would be foolish to think past 12:30 on Sunday. That’s all we’ve ever done. We have one more game to play to end the regular season and that is the only thing that is on my mind and hopefully the only thing on our players’ minds.”
Continue Reading: Illinois-Ohio St. Preview (The Associated Press)
