Top 25: No. 11 Illinois 74, No. 8 Ohio State 55
Top 25 basketball • The Illini held the Buckeyes to 33 percent shooting from the field.
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Champaign, Ill. • Brandon Paul scored 19 points and No. 11 Illinois bounced back from a tough loss in its Big Ten opener to beat No. 8 Ohio State 74-55 on Saturday.
The Illini (14-2, 1-1) led 37-25 at halftime and used a 13-2 run early in the second half to build a 50-27 lead.
Illinois used stingy defense to shut down the Buckeyes (11-3, 1-1), who shot just 33 percent from the field and turned over the ball 16 times.
Nnanna Egwu added 16 points and Tracy Abrams had 13 points and five assists for Illinois.
Deshaun Thomas led Ohio State with 24 points.
Illinois came into the game after a stunning 68-61 loss at Purdue and had lost two of its last three. —