On Wednesday night in Champaign, Illinois, No. 19 Ohio State women’s basketball faced the Illinois Fighting Illini, a team ranked just outside the Associated Press’ weekly top 25.
The matchup featured two young teams that play fast, entertaining basketball, and the game lived up to the hype. There were 16 lead changes, a two-possession game late in the fourth quarter, and Buckeye point guard Jaloni Cambridge scored a career high 41 points in the 78-69 Ohio State victory. All the while, four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson sat courtside in a surprise appearance.
It was a dream for Cambridge, who chose Wilson as the one person she wanted to see courtside at one of her games. The point guard cut through the Illini defense, hit shots at all three levels, and contributed to 73% of Ohio State’s baskets.
Jaloni Cambridge saw A’ja Wilson and balled out 🔥
Cambridge dropped her career-high in front of her dream celebrity fan 👏 (via @OhioStateWBB) pic.twitter.com/McYfdCsUg1
— espnW (@espnW) January 8, 2026
For the Big Ten, it was the kind of game that justified conference talking points. From media day through the conference tournament, coaches and players are not shy about saying they see the Big Ten as the best conference in the country.
So, how could a competitive game with moments of genuine emotion and a fulfilled childhood dream for a 41-point scorer be such a loss for the Big Ten?
Most fans did not see it.
That is because the game aired on the Big Ten Conference’s OTT streaming platform. B1G+ is the conference-only platform that is the home for any athletic event that does not air on the Big Ten Network or through any of the myriad media deals.
Ohio State and Illinois were not the first, and are not the last, game this season that featured teams with real March Madness aspirations. On Thursday, the No. 23 Washington Huskies welcome the No. 15 Michigan Spartans on the platform. Then, one month before the end of the season, the Spartans…