Brandon Paul sizzles as Illinois blast Ohio State

Champaign, IL, United States (4E Sports) – Brandon Paul racked up 19 points and 7 rebounds and Nnanna Eqwu contributed 16 points and 8 rebounds as the Illinois Fighting Illini blasted the Ohio State Buckeyes, 74-55, Saturday at Assembly Hall.

The Fighting Illini proved they are one of the teams to be reckoned with in the Big Ten this season after recording a 19-point blowout win over the top-ten Buckeyes on their home turf.

Coming off a 68-61 loss to Purdue, Illinois came out like a house of fire and took a 37-25 lead at the end of the first half.

Despite a better effort from the Buckeyes, the Illini controlled the lead through the opening minutes and then pulled away for good down the stretch.

Deshaun Thomas scored 24 points for the Buckeyes, who shot just 33.3 percent from the field and turned the ball over 16 times.

The Fighting Illini shot nearly 50 percent from the field at 48.3 percent while dominated their foe in the battle for the boards, 39-28.

Illinois improved their slate to 14-2 while Ohio State suffered their third loss and dropped to 11-3.

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