Follow our Illinois basketball updates on Twitter

GAME 26
UI men vs. Ohio State,
Noon, Sunday
LINEUPS
ILLINOIS (17-8 overall, 9-3 Big Ten)
Probable starters
P Name HT. YR. PPG
G Demetri McCamey 6-3 Jr. 15.8
G D.J. Richardson 6-3 Fr. 11.1
F Bill Cole 6-9 Jr. 3.9
F Mike Davis 6-9 Jr. 10.3
C Mike Tisdale 7-1 Jr. 12.0
Top reserves
G Brandon Paul 6-3 Fr. 8.2
F Tyler Griffey 6-9 Fr. 3.4
F Dominique Keller 6-7 Sr. 5.6

OHIO STATE (19-6, 9-3)
Probable starters
G Evan Turner 6-7 Jr. 19.2
G William Buford 6-5 So. 14.2
G David Lighty 6-5 Sr. 12.4
G Jon Diebler 6-6 Jr. 12.4
F Dallas Lauderdale 6-8 Jr. 7.4
Top reserves
G Jeremie Simmons 6-2 Sr. 5.8
C Kyle Madsen 6-9 Sr. 2.7
G P.J. Hill 6-1 Sr. 3.9

FACTS & FIGURES
Site: Assembly Hall (16,618), Champaign.
Radio: Brian Barnhart and Jerry Hester call the action on WDWS 1400-AM,
WHMS 97.5-FM, WDAN 1490-AM, WDNL 102.1-FM and WPXN 104.9-FM.
TV: CBS. Gus Johnson is on play-by-play duties, and Greg Anthony provides the expert analysis.
Series: Illinois leads 102-64. Over the past decade Ohio State and Illinois share many similarities. Since 2000, the series is tied 9-9. Both reached the NCAA title game (Illinois in 2005; Ohio State in 2007). Both
have banner recruiting classes schedule to arrive next season (Ohio State's 2010 class is ranked second nationally, while Illinois' is ranked sixth, according to Scout.com). Ohio State had won five straight meetings before Illinois swept the season series last year. Illinois coach Bruce Weber is 5-5 vs. the Buckeyes.
Coaches: Weber (169-65 in seventh season at Illinois, 272-119 in 12th season overall); Thad Matta (146-52 in sixth season at Ohio State and 248-83 in 10th season overall).

Big Ten Player of the Year candidate No. 1
Illinois last season had an answer for Evan Turner: Chester Frazier, who, as a senior, was the Darrelle Revis of Big Ten defenders. In two games last season, Frazier limited Turner to 21 points on 8-for-22 shooting. Frazier's scouting report? "(On) his drives to the basket, he is dangerous," Frazier wrote via Twitter. "While driving in on (a) pick-n-roll, (you) have to make him a jumpshooter. (He's) right-hand dominant also." The current Illini want to slow Turner, but they also appreciate his talent. "He's just smooth," said Mike Davis, a hoops junkie who has watched Turner often this season. "He's so good at getting in the lane, using that floater, those spins, and he's so athletic that he can dunk it." Weber said the Illinois defense will be "by committee" on Turner, who this season has scored two of the three triple-doubles in Ohio State's illustrious history. "Really, he's a forward, but yet he's a point guard," Weber said. But the best scouting report, of course, comes from McCamey. "Since he's playing point (guard) this year, you can't deny him the ball. But you've got to limit his touches and contest every shot," McCamey said. Jerrance Howard, the assistant coach responsible for the Ohio State scouting report, said he expects Turner to "get his" numbers. Howard said the key is to limit the scoring production of wingmen like William Buford and Jon Diebler. "You can't let those guys go off," Howard said. But the marquee attraction today is Turner. The junior is listed as a lottery pick in every mock NBA draft you can find. "I knew he was going to be special," said Westchester St. Joseph coach Gene Pingatore. "But you never know how far that goes. When he left us, I said to many people, even before he left, he was going to be an NBA point guard. He had a great mind for the game. He had a point guard's mentality and I knew that. I'm not surprised at what he's done."

Big Ten Player of the Year candidate No. 2
During a practice late last season, as Evan Turner was surging onto the national scene, Bruce Weber reached into his bottomless bag of motivational ploys and yanked out a doozy. "In high school you were the same as Evan. Now he's passed you up!" Weber said. For memory's sake, Turner finished third in the state's 2007 Mr. Basketball voting, while McCamey finished sixth. (Some kid named Derrick Rose won the award and ended Turner and McCamey's season in a Class AA supersectional.) But over the last two months, McCamey has made up ground. Most recently he averaged 24.5 points and nine assists in upsets of then-No. 5 Michigan State and No. 11 Wisconsin. "He's playing like Superman right now," said junior Mike Davis. "He's playing unconscious basketball. He's playing with a lot of confidence. He's playing with a lot of swag." Of course, Turner is the favorite for Big Ten Player of the Year. A straw poll of media conducted by AnnArbor.com last week tabbed Turner as second in the National Player of the Year race. (Kentucky's John Wall was first. We voted for Turner.)  How would McCamey, a one-man gang on offense at times, overtake his buddy in the league's POY race? Perhaps by outplaying Turner in their two matchups - and leading Illinois to a higher finish in the Big Ten standings. "I think he knows that everybody's been waiting for him to explode. He realized that he can do it. He's just really became a big leader and one of the most talented players in the country." Take note, however: McCamey is far from a finished product. Coaches ripped him after he missed defensive assignments that allowed Michigan State to bury two threes late in a win against the Spartans. Coaches said his nonsensical defense allowed at least eight points late in that game. "If he could guard that would really help us," Weber said.

'Like a brother'
In describing their relationship, McCamey and Turner used the same word: brother. "It's more like a brother-type thing," Turner said. McCamey added, "He's pretty much like my brother." Theirs is a friendship that goes back a decade, both said. "We were like 11 years old," Turner said. McCamey added, "We've been growing up together since sixth, seventh grade." Later, they were teammates at Westchester St. Joseph and with Illinois Wolves. The latter was a club-circuit juggernaut, going 86-13 while playing at the U17 level for two seasons, Illinois Wolves director Mike Mullins said. Those Wolves had up to nine Division I players on the roster. Pingatore and Mullins said they will be in attendance today. "I told him (Turner) I barely know half the people coming," McCamey said. "I bet there's probably going to be 100 people from our high school." The friends exchanged text messages as recently as Friday. "But it wasn't about the game," McCamey said. At stake personally is the head-to-head record since they arrived at Ohio State and Illinois. In other words, offseason bragging rights. Turner's Buckeyes swept the season series in 2008; McCamey's Illini swept the series last season. But Weber made it clear he won't allow it to become a Demetri-vs.-Evan ordeal, at least in McCamey's mind. "If he gets going too much, he can come and sit with me for a minute and just relax for a minute," Weber said. Coming off McCamey's 27-point game at Wisconsin, the Illinois coaches reverted to the familiar approach of making it tough on McCamey in practice. On a drive to the basket, McCamey was tackled by a defender. But no foul was called, a tactic the coaches used to harden Deron Williams back in the day. Neither McCamey nor Turner is afraid to get their smack on, either. "I as playing and beating him since sixth grade," McCamey joked. Turner countered: "We had some battles. But I think I took that over when we were 13 or 14."

Prediction
Illinois 77, No. 13 Ohio State 75
If you're looking for a perfect-world scenario through orange-colored glasses, watch Evan Turner and imagine Jereme Richmond in three years. That's not to say a high school kid will be a Wooden Award candidate. That's a stretch. But there's a striking similarity in the styles of Richmond, a 6-foot-7 Illinois recruit that Weber said he could man up to four positions, and Turner, a 6-foot-7 soon-to-be millionaire. Bruce Weber sees it, too. "Evan wasn't at this level coming out of high school (as Richmond). But it's a good similarity," he said. "Evan can go down and post up. He's one of the leading rebounders, yet he's also one of the leading assist guys. He wheels and deals, creates. I think that's a good comparison." Thanks, coach. Now about those Buckeyes. The Big Ten's hottest team has won eight straight league games, the last three by an average of 13.3 points. "I think (Ohio State) is the most talented team, physically gifted team, of this group that we're facing, especially their starting five," Weber said. Meanwhile, Illinois has won five straight, only one by double digits. The Illini are hunting a three-game winning streak against ranked opponents for the first time since the 1999 Big Ten tournament. Thanks to another rambunctious crowd at the Assembly Hall - a true sixth man this season - they'll get it. (News-Gazette prediction record: 18-6 overall, 11-1 Big Ten).