Ohio State hangs its hat on 37.4 percent three-point shooting (third in the Big Ten) and is led by the long-distance dynamic duo of Bruce Thornton and John Mobley Jr., each of whom has hit 40-plus threes on the season and is shooting over 40 percent from deep.

The bloom is off the rose for these Illini (14-6, 6-4 Big Ten), who went from being underrated by the college basketball illuminati early this season to now arguably underperforming as the expectations around them have risen. The climb up the mountain, as always, gets harder with every subsequent step toward the top.