The Ohio State basketball team rebounded from its only loss of the season to open up Big Ten play with a win on the road vs. Northwestern. It was sorely needed, having to wait over a week after Pitt beat OSU on a last-second shot for the second year in a row.
Now the Buckeyes return home for another Big Ten matchup against Illinois, a team that has looked like a team that will contend for the upper echelon of the conference, having only lost to two ranked teams, Alabama and UConn, so far this year. The Illini have been one of the best programs in the Big Ten over the last few years, and if Ohio State is to get back among the best in the league, a win over Illinois inside Value City Arena would be a step in that direction.
ESPN has updated OSU’s chances of beating the Illini using its “matchup predictor,” which uses its own analytics to predict the outcome of games, and so yeah — we’re game to take a look.
It looks like ESPN expects the contest Tuesday night to be a close one, so much so that it’s almost a coin flip at around 50%, but not quite in Ohio State’s favor. Here is what ESPN says about Ohio State’s chance of winning.
Ohio State basketball vs. Illinois: percent chance of victory
Location | Value City Arena (Columbus, Ohio)
Predicted winner | Illinois
Buckeyes win probability | 48.8%
All-time series since 1949-50 | Illinois leads 74-63
Tip for Ohio State vs. Illinois is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. We’ll have reaction after all the dust and snow settle at the Schottenstein Center.
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: ESPN updates Ohio State hoops’ chance of beating Illinois Tuesday
