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 Big Ten) 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 the ball over 16 times.
Deshaun Thomas led Ohio State with 24 points, but beyond him the Buckeyes had no one to turn to for offense. Aaron Craft had a quiet 11 points and Lenzelle Smith Jr. finished with eight, all in the first half.
And while the Buckeyes searched for offense, the Illini got double-figure production from four players.
Sophomore center Nnanna Egwu had 16 points and a game-high eight rebounds for the Illini point guard Tracy Abrams added 13 points and five assists, while reserve Joseph Bertrand scored 12 points.
Illinois came into the game off a stunning 68-61 loss at Purdue in its Big Ten opener, and had lost two of its last three over a stretch in which the team struggled to get stops.
But on Saturday, Illinois became the first team to hold the Buckeyes under 30 points in the first half this season, taking a 37-25 lead.
The efforts of Illini big men Egwu, Sam McLaurin and Tyler Griffey were a big part of that success. Ohio State had just 10 points in the paint in the first half.
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