Ohio State hangs tight at No. 19 in the final AP Poll of the season

After a 1-1 week that saw the Ohio State Buckeyes both beat and be beaten by a ranked team, AP voters decided to leave OSU right where they are in the AP Poll at No. 19.

Thursday evening’s win over the Illinois Fighting Illini was E.J. Liddell’s coming-out party. The freshman forward, who was a two-time Mr. Basketball winner in the state of Illinois in high school, scored 17 points to go along with 11 rebounds in Ohio State’s 71-63 comeback win. That win deflated Illinois’ chances for a Big Ten title.

On Sunday, Chris Holtmann’s squad had an opportunity to do the same in East Lansing. The Spartans were looking to lay stake to part of the conference championship, and they did just that by beating the Buckeyes 80-69. Cassius Winston scored 27 points, as the short-handed Buckeyes didn’t have the (healthy) manpower to defend all of Sparty’s weapons.

Kansas once again reigned supreme in the poll, followed by Gonzaga, Dayton, Florida State (up from No. 7 last week), and Baylor.

Five other B1G teams appeared in the top 25 this week. Big Ten co-champions Michigan State, Maryland, and Wisconsin sit at 9, 12, and 18 respectively. Illinois, who also went 1-1 last week, jumped from No. 23 to No. 21. Iowa just snuck into the poll at No. 25, down 7 spots from last week after going 0-2 last week.

Check out the full poll below: