3 things we learned from Ohio State basketball's loss to Illinois

The Ohio State basketball team was back in action on Tuesday night, hosting a top-15 Illinois Fighting Illini squad for its first Big Ten home game of the year. It was a good battle throughout, but Illinois shot the ball too well and had a response for every time the Buckeyes went on a little run, especially when it was time to close the game out. The final score was 88-80 for Illinois, and the result dropped the Buckeyes’ overall record to 7-2 and their Big Ten mark to 1-1.

This OSU team is still a work in progress, and there were plenty of things to take from this as learning lessons or things we know about the team. On that note, we like to look back at the action on the court and pull out some things, and there are definitely some patterns emerging that we can start to keep an eye on for development throughout the season.

Here are three things we learned from Ohio State basketball’s loss to Illinois on Tuesday.

Ohio State big man Christoph Tilly isn’t working from outside

Christoph Tilly should not be taking 3-pointers outside five seconds on the shot clock.

He just doesn’t have it so far this year.

— Views From The Schott Podcast (@TheSchottPod) December 10, 2025

I know head coach Jake Diebler believes Christoph Tilly can be a mismatch out on the perimeter and has asked him to shoot more from deep, but it doesn’t look like that’s working. The seven-footer should probably stay down low for his inside game and rebounding at this point.

Tilly is shooting just 13.8% from beyond the arc this year (4-of-29), and it doesn’t even look natural when he releases one out there. He was 0-for-4 in this one, and it is just something that doesn’t look like it’s going to be a consistent option for this team. Let him stay on the blocks and unclutter the perimeter for guys that can shoot and allow an inside-outside game to be a part of the equation.

It’s the little things for Ohio State that aren’t working

Free throws. Not turning the ball over. Grabbing loose balls. Taking good shots. Ok, maybe that’s more than the little things, but things just aren’t clicking as they should be with this team. Ohio State got to the free-throw line but missed some key ones. There were fouls that were frustration fouls that could have been the difference in the game. More than that, there’s a lack of composure and good shots being taken in the clutch.

A play here or there adds up, and it becomes even more glaring as the sands of the hourglass run out, and you see it being the literal difference in winning and losing. You might say I’m being too hard on a team that is 7-2, but the competition hasn’t been that great so far, and it’s about to get much harder to win games in the Big Ten. All of these things are going to become even more of an issue, I fear, as we move on.

Bruce Thornton can’t do it on his own

The Ohio State captain was amazing this game. He only missed one shot in the first half and notched 24 points before the teams went to the locker room. It was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen, and yet it wasn’t enough. The Buckeyes were still down heading to halftime, and then Illinois found a way to neutralize him a bit in the second half.

Here’s the thing. Thornton needs a consistent Batman. John Mobley Jr, Devin Royal, Christoph Tilly, or Amare Bynum can be a second or third scorer in any given game, but none of them are consistently a threat to really put pressure on defenses and keep Ohio State from going stretches without scoring. Without that second or third consistent threat to put the ball through the hoop, we’ll see more of what we saw today.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State basketball vs. Illinois: 3 things we learned Tuesday

USA News Hub