Liddell, No. 21 Ohio St power past No. 14 Illinois 87-81

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — E.J. Liddell scored 26 points and No. 21 Ohio State beat No. 14 Illinois 87-81 in a Big Ten matchup. The game was very physical, mostly in the second half. One technical was called, on Ohio State’s Duane Washington Jr., and the officials had to step in many times to avoid fights. Washington, Justin Ahrens and Seth Towns each added 11 for the visting Buckeyes, who improved to 11-3. Ohio State was missing injured guards C.J. Walker and Jimmy Sotos. Ayo Dosunmu led Illinois with 22 points. The Illini fell to 9-5.