CHAMPAIGN  The heck with Senior Night. Lose to the bumbling Buckeyes of Ohio State in the last week of the regular season at your place, Illinois, and you''ve got bigger problems than Kiwane Garris'' hurt feelings.

   "There was pressure to win this game because I don''t want to be seeded No. 9, I want to be seeded No. 4," Illini forward Brian Johnson said, referring to some tournament that starts a week from today. "And why not finish second in the Big Ten while we''re at it?"

   The 15th-ranked Illini, who squeaked out a 90-83 win over a game bunch of Buckeyes on Wednesday night before an Assembly Hall crowd of 13,702, woke up just in time to remain eligible for both.

   "We didn''t win it the way we wanted to win it," Illini guard Kevin Turner said. "But we won it."

   The hard, come-from-behind, no-one-gets-to-leave-early-on-a-school-night way.

   Ohio State, 1-12 on the road and 5-12 in the Big Ten, gave Illinois more of a game than Iowa or Michigan.

   Ohio State, which earlier this season lost by 31 points at Northwestern, nearly spoiled the Illini seniors'' second straight going-away party.

   Ohio State, which has dropped 10 straight to Illinois, shot better than anyone has all season at the Assembly Hall.

   Illinois included.

   "Every game, win or lose, you try to learn from the experience," Illini coach Lon Kruger said. "This is a game you learn a lot from."

   And what did the Illini learn?

   Besides selling out a midweek game against a ninth-place team is mission impossible.

   "We''ve got to do a better job defensively to have a chance," Kruger said. "That''s the bottom line."

   The Buckeyes shot a sizzling 59.6 percent from the field and hit half of their 26 three-pointers.

   By contrast, Michigan shot 36.4 percent from the field and 3 of 18 from three-point range in a loss three days earlier at Illinois.

   Even Garris'' 17-of-18 free throw shooting, Turner''s six three-pointers and the win-one-for-Herb-Caldwell thing nearly weren''t enough.

   "I thought Ohio State was as well-prepared and ready for us as anyone was all year," said Kruger, who said you won''t find a quicker team in the Big Ten than the Buckeyes. "They flat out took it right to us."

   The Buckeyes, whose lone 1996-97 road kill was a big one (Michigan), shot like their quarterbacks threw when they last dropped by Champaign, hitting 69.2 percent of their first-half shots.

   That''s 18 of 26, including a 10-for-10 stretch.

   Randy Ayers has been at Ohio State eight years  there might not be a ninth  and can''t remember too many of those.

   "No, no, especially on the road," Ayers said. "I can''t ask for anything more out of my ballclub."

   Kruger can.

   "We put a stat on the board at halftime  we contested eight of their 26 shots," Turner said. "What we consider contesting is getting a hand above the ball, a hand over the eyes."

   The Buckeyes couldn''t see so clearly in the second half, which they started by hitting their first five shots. Then eight of their last 21.

   "They came out of the zone and got aggressive in their man," Buckeyes guard Damon Stringer said.

   "I wish them all the luck in the world in the NCAA tournament because they''re going to give people fits," said Ayers, whose night included a technical foul.

   Garris, who had his seventh 20-plus-point game in eight tries against Ayers, is no longer his headache.

   Garris didn''t shoot like he usually does when Ayers is roaming the sideline (2 for 12), but enjoyed one of his finest hours at the free throw line.

   He was 1 of 6 Illini in double figures, finishing with 22 points. Turner had 18, Matt Heldman 15, Chris Gandy 12 in his Assembly Hall farewell, and Jarrod Gee and Bryant Notree 10 apiece.

   "I have to laugh because there are times when we forget our scouting reports on certain individuals," Ayers said.

   The first paragraph on Garris: don''t foul him.

   "One time, we fouled him when he was posting up two guys," Ayers said with a shrug.

   Two Garris free throws gave Illinois their first lead of the second half, with 5:10 left.

   He was 8 for 8 in the first half and 8 for 8 down the stretch, part of another record night.