Ohio State basketball beats Illinois to end suffering

Let’s be honest. When Ohio State led Illinois by 12 points at halftime Sunday, a lot of Buckeye Nation began looking for the iceberg. 

When your team has lost nine games in a row, and 14 of the past 15, you begin to expect bad things to happen. It becomes driving on West Broad in the Hilltop on a Saturday night; keep your head on a swivel, because someone is about to cut you off in traffic. And always count three seconds before advancing through a green light, because some knucklehead is going to run the red light. 

No surprise, then, that as the Illini crept closer and closer at Value City Arena, an aroma of “Here we go again” mixed with the beefy smell of pricey $6 hot dogs, or “Genedogs,” as one sports writing wag calls them. As the 12-point halftime lead shrank to six … then … four … then two with 8:05 remaining, a sense of resignation set in.