Freshman Jared Sullinger had 27 points and 16 rebounds and got some perimeter help during a decisive second-half flurry, as No. 1 Ohio State remained undefeated with a 73-68 road victory over No. 22 Illinois.

Jon Diebler added 15 points and a trio of 3-pointers for the Buckeyes (20-0, 7-0 Big Ten), who sank 24-of-27 free throws and committed just seven turnovers in surviving their fifth close call in conference play.

Sullinger, who was hit in the nose in the first half and forced to play with a plug in his left nostril for the remainder of the half, converted 13 of 15 from the line and added three blocks.

Trailing by eight with just under 13 minutes to play, the Buckeyes scored 14 consecutive points to take a 56-50 lead with 7:44 left. Surprisingly, Sullinger scored just two points during the surge, as the Buckeyes instead got a pair of 3-pointers from freshman Deshaun Thomas and another from Diebler.

Illinois cut the deficit to 69-58 with 16.8 ticks left on a 3-pointer by Mike Tisdale. But Buckeye freshman Aaron Craft drained two free throws with 15.2 seconds left to put Ohio State up three, and Illinois turned it over with 4.5 ticks left.

Ohio State led most of the first half, but the Fighting Illini scored the last eight points of the half to take a 34-33 lead into the locker room. Mike Davis pushed the bulge to 50-42 with 12:53 left when he converted a transition fast-break layup.

Freshman Jereme Richmond had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Tisdale added 15 for Illinois (14-6, 4-3 Big Ten), which shot just 4 of 17 from the arc and made just eight free throws.