Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports The Buckeyes lack experience, but they make up for it in talent. The Illinois Fighting Illini (8-6, 0-1) will be back in action on Sunday to face the Ohio State Buckeyes (9-5, 1-0) in Columbus. Illinois leads the all-time series between the two programs 104-74, but John Groce is only 1-4 against the Buckeyes since taking the job in 2012; that lone win came three years ago. Whilst creating the first edition of my Big Ten basketball power rankings back in May, I noted that Ohio State, though very inexperienced, could have the most talented roster in the conference. I mean, 8/11 of the Buckeyes’ players were former four-star prospects or better coming out of high school (would’ve been 9/12, but freshman guard Austin Grandstaff is transferring). That’s pretty good! The bottom line is that you shouldn’t be fooled by the Buckeye’s relatively harmless 9-5 record; after all, this is a team that secured a huge neutral-court victory over the Kentucky Wildcats a few weeks ago. Ohio State obviously has some weaknesses to address, but this could end up being a fairly dangerous team once the newcomers — and there are a lot of them — get fully acclimated. Player to Watch: JaQuan Lyle (#13) Does the name ring a bell? It should because the Illini were involved in Lyle’s extremely strange recruitment back in 2013. …
Continue Reading: Game Preview: Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Ohio State Buckeyes
