It was a Valentine’s Day massacre.

The No. 13 Ohio State men’s basketball team ventured to hostile Champaign, Ill., Sunday and came away with a 72-53 blowout win.

OSU (20-6, 10-3) and Illinois (17-9, 9-4) entered the contest tied for first in the Big Ten with both Purdue and Michigan State at 9-3.

Both OSU and Illinois knew what was at stake in what could be seen as OSU’s most important matchup to date, and the Buckeyes dominated.

It was a three-headed attack for the Buckeyes, featuring Evan Turner, John Diebler and David Lighty. 

Diebler’s shooting ability killed Illinois all day. Every time the Illini got a shred of momentum, it was Diebler who shot it down. He had 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, all from 3-point territory.

Lighty played effectively for OSU as well, totaling 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-5 from behind the arc.

Turner’s day started slowly, but he finished two assists shy of a triple-double.
His 16 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists helped OSU maintain a large lead for most of the afternoon.

The Buckeyes used an 18-6 run early in the first half to quickly neutralize the Illinois crowd. By the end of the first 20 minutes, OSU had pushed its lead to 36-20.

The Illini climbed back within 13 in the early portions of the second half, but OSU eventually pushed the lead back into the 20s down the stretch.

The Buckeye defense was efficient, keeping every member of the Illinois roster to single-digits in scoring.

OSU now turns its attention to a rematch with Purdue at home on Wednesday. The Buckeyes used a late rally last month to beat the Boilermakers in their first matchup this season.