It’s the dead of winter and heading into the week the Ohio State men’s basketball team seemed to be developing flu-like symptoms.

The Buckeyes were suffering through shooting ague, and arenas turned particularly chilly – at the Crisler Center in a 56-51 loss to Michigan on Saturday, and the previous weekend at the Schottenstein Center, which served as the setting for a 64-49 home loss to Michigan State.

In those two damaging February defeats, OSU made 33 of 102 shots, failed to find production from its bench, left fans wondering if there were leadership and chemistry issues, and lost grip of what could have been a stranglehold on the Big Ten race.

Then, like a big, frothy bowl of nourishment, the suddenly sad-sack Illinois Fighting Illini came to town Tuesday and the Buckeyes got well, putting together an encouraging 83-67 victory before a crowd of 18,481.

The eighth-ranked Buckeyes, who led by as many as 26 points in the must-needed victory, improved to 23-5 overall and 11-4 in league play. But, more important, OSU gave rise to the hope that its could yet find a way to wrest a piece of the league crown and turn around its outlook for the dramatic March that awaits.

Therefore, my observations today come in the form of alphabet soup:

A is for assists-to-turnovers ratio. Head coach Thad Matta said it’s one of the first things that draws his eye when he peruses the box score and, clearly, it’s one of the statistics he harps on the most. Past elite OSU teams of the Matta era have been very good in this department – like best-in-the-Big-Ten good and among the top teams in the country.

With Aaron Craft taking over at point guard and freshman Shannon Scott now in the fold, there was real hope that the trend would continue. However, it’s been a glaring problem in recent performances. In the loss to the Spartans, OSU’s assists-to-turnovers mark was a dismal 6-to-15. At Michigan it was 9-to-13.

Of course, shooting the ball poorly can mar the figure but so does simply playing bad offense, being careless with the ball and, ahem, charging. Against Illinois, the Buckeyes were well on their way to turning their ratio back to the positive then a slew of turnovers in the final couple minutes – Illinois coach Bruce Weber inexplicably pressed when Matta emptied his bench and didn’t have a natural ball handler on the floor – left the final numbers 16-to-17.

While there was progress Tuesday, it’s safe to say Matta is going to keep demanding improvement on this statistic going forward.

B is for Buford, William. OSU’s lone senior entered the Illinois game with scoring outputs, in chronological order, of a career-high 29 points (win over Purdue), 4 (loss to MSU), 24 (win at Minnesota), and 6 (loss at UM). He finally got off the teeter-totter Tuesday and put together an unforced and efficient performance with 17 points in 26 minutes. Buford was 7 of 9 from the floor including 2 of 3 from distance.

Next up is Wisconsin. Buford was just 4 of 15 in Madison earlier this month but contributed greatly to a 58-52 win with a huge three-pointer down the stretch – his only triple in seven attempts – and six rebounds. The rematch on Sunday (4 p.m. Eastern, CBS) will be staged at The Schott and serve as Buford’s last home game. How he performs under that bright spotlight will be intriguing and likely critical to OSU’s chances at winning a third straight Big Ten title.

C is for crashing the boards. The Buckeyes have outrebounded every foe this month except Michigan State and even managed to record a 34-25 advantage on the backboards at Michigan, which helped keep them in a game in which they couldn’t put together a single appreciable offensive surge.

Against the Illini they had just five offensive rebounds, but there is a simple explanation for that: They were shooting close to 70 percent the majority of the game and finished 32 of 49 (65.3 percent). Plus, the Buckeyes made sure to clean up the defensive boards with 28 on that end, matching UI’s overall total for the game.

OSU has been passed by the mighty Spartans in offensive and defensive rebounding and rebounding margin but is a close second in all of those categories. Continuing to swipe the glass is going to be necessary.

D is for defensive prowess. Yes, shots fell early and often for the Buckeyes, which enabled them to put together a fluid offensive outing. But while building up a 42-26 halftime lead, OSU’s defense also was forceful enough to cause its visitors to hit just 8 of 27 shots (29.6 percent). Defense has been Matta’s crutch all season – and it still could take Ohio State a long way.

E is for even-steven. Illinois is the Big Ten team that has given Ohio State the most difficulty throughout the years. In fact, Tuesday night’s win actually improved OSU’s all-time record to 65-100 against the Illini. However, in games played in Columbus in the series, the Buckeyes are now 40-40.

F is for fun. Recent wins have been business-like and the losses have left the Buckeyes sour and even questioning themselves. Against Illinois, Ohio State went back to being youthful, playful and crowd-pleasing. The Buckeyes went to timeouts jumping up and down and hip-bumping each other. Jeff Boals, OSU’s most enthusiastic assistant coach, went back to pumping his fists and joining in the celebrations. The Schott was vibrant once again.

The Buckeyes get one more chance to turn on their home crowd and see if they can carry the good feelings over into the last week of the regular season, which includes tough road games at Northwestern Feb. 29 and Michigan State (March 4).

G is for gravity. Sam Thompson seems to defy it. It is utterly amazing how springy this kids legs are on a basketball court. He shot off the ground on both of his blocks, drawing oohs from the nearly soldout crowd, but it was his one-handed alley-oop throwdown that really jazzed up the arena.

Just a freshman and still raw in terms of his outside shooting and recognition, the 6-7 Thompson still has a ways to go to become a well-rounded basketball play. But he’s already ahead of the curve simply with his marvelous athletic ability. His alley-oop dunk at Indiana was perhaps the best of its kind I had seen by a Buckeye. His dunk against Illinois also was beyond description, especially since the pass from Scott was thrown behind him.

Yes, Thompson eventually alights on the ground. But he sure does spend a lot of time above it.

H is for Hop, as in Dennis Hopson. The former Buckeye wingman has come back into consciousness this season, possibly because Buford continues to climb the all-time school scoring list. Hopson, who played for three years under Eldon Miller in the mid-1980s then flourished as a senior for Gary Williams in 1986-87, is the current record-holder with 2,096 points as a Buckeye. Behind him are Herb Williams (2,011), Jerry Lucas (1,990), Kelvin Ransey (1,934), Michael Redd (1,879) and Buford (1,846).

A group of fans have put together a petition asking the university to add Hopson’s jersey to the ones in the rafters and some fans at the Illinois game sported “Retire 32” T-shirts to aid the cause.

I is for the ill-fated Illini. Ay yay yay. What has happened to this team? Illinois lost the services of longtime starters Demetri McCamey, Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale after last season but still has enough talent to make a 68-team NCAA Tournament field. Since dumping Ohio State on Jan. 10, UI has gone 1-9. Ironically, the exception was a win over league leader Michigan State – although it was an ugly 42-41 decision and MSU’s top player, Draymond Green, was hurt.

As Ohio State was hammering Illinois and pulling away, I posted the following tweet: “The last time I saw a talented Big Ten team plummet like this ... Jay Burson was wearing a newly fitted neckbrace.”

J is for Jared, Sullinger that is. The last time we had seen him on his home floor he was clearly frustrated, both with his teammates and the officials. He finished 17 points and 16 rebounds vs. MSU but was just 5 of 15 from the floor and committed a career-high 10 turnovers.

Against the Illini, Sullinger refused to get beat downcourt like he did in the loss at Michigan and was an effective cog in the offense, even though he rarely caught the ball in the post after rooting around inside. With the Buckeyes on target from the outside he was content to set high picks, keep the ball moving and set up others. He also did a good job of outletting the ball and helping defensively.

About seven minutes into the second half and with the outcome virtually decided, Sullinger was just 1 of 3 from the floor and had only three points. After he airballed a three he then decided to get back into the low post and do some damage, hitting three straight shots. He finished with nine points and six boards and appeared a bit refreshed from the lightened workload.

K is for Kentcuky. After OSU’s win, the top-ranked Wildcats rallied from behind to defeat Mississippi State much the way they did at Vanderbilt, another tough venue. The Buckeyes may be clawing their way back toward a No. 1 seed or at least elite status, but by all appearances Kentucky is going to head into the March Madness as the clear-cut team to beat.

L is for Leonard, Meyers. Illinois’ 7-1, 245-pound center has moves around the basket, can block shots and runs the floor well for his size. In other words, he’s going to make a lot of money playing this game professionally. He also put together a noteworthy performance against Ohio State with 21 points, five rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot and two steals. And his size and activity were a problem for the Buckeyes and had a lot to do with Sullinger fouling out.

However, the sophomore also tends to drive Weber crazy with soft play and inconsistency. It will be very interesting to see how long Leonard stays in college, who will coach him in the future, and if he develops into something more than a solid yet headache-inducing player.

M is for Michigan, which also garnered a big win Tuesday night to stay in the league title hunt. The Wolverines survived their second straight overtime battle with Northwestern and now sit at 21-7 overall and 11-4 in the Big Ten. Michigan State (22-5, 11-3) faces Minnesota at Williams Arena on Wednesday night, looking to stay a game ahead of the Buckeyes and Wolverines.

N is for Northwestern. The previously mentioned defeat was very damaging to the Wildcats’ chances of making their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In reality, there is one more chance to catch the eyes of the tournament committee – knocking off Ohio State at the end of the month. The Buckeyes, once again, are going to get somebody’s best shot.

O is for overtime. The Buckeyes have not ventured into one in a regular-season game since getting by Purdue at home 80-72 in OT on Feb. 3, 2009. Since then, however, Ohio State has had three postseason games go into extra time – the 74-72 double-overtime NCAA Tournament loss to Siena on March 20, 2009; an 88-81 double-OT win over Illinois in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament on March 13, 2010; and last year’s 67-61 overtime win over Northwestern in the quarterfinals of the BTT on March 11.

Maybe O also is for “overdue.”

P is for Paul, Brandon. Welcome back to planet Earth, good sir. In Illinois’ 79-74 upset of the Buckeyes, Paul was somewhere in the ether hitting well-contested shot after well-contested shot. He finished with a ridiculous 43 points after making 11 of 15 field goals, 8 of 10 threes, and a 13 of 15 free throws. He also ripped down eight rebounds and swatted four OSU shot attempts.

On Tuesday, the highly skilled UI guard couldn’t hit a single three (0 of 3), was 2 of 9 from the field and finished with nine points, three rebounds and zero blocks. At one point he was escorted to the locker room because of an arm contusion. But Paul’s evening – and the ineptitude of his team – was summed up in one embarrassing moment as he missed a dunk after driving through a wide-open lane to the basket.

Q is for LaQuinton Ross. The rarely seen OSU frosh again made a few plays in garbage time, logging five points, a rebound and an assist in just five minutes. On one possession he dribbled the ball toward the corner, zipped past a lunging defender, crossed over another, drew a foul and scored. He added the free throw for a very eye-opening three-point play.

Ross has good length (6-8) and skill for a wing forward and could have a bright future in the program if he commits himself and spends much of the offseason getting in better shape. He’s not an answer now but could be an exclamation point down the road.

R is for reinforcements. Speaking of the OSU bench, Thompson, Evan Ravenel, Amir Williams, Ross, Jordan Sibert, J.D. Weatherspoon and Trey McDonald were a combined 8 for 11 from floor and continued the laudable offensive play. Scott was 0 for 5 and needs work softening up his outside shot but he may have been as instrumental as any reserve in the victory.

A 6-1 frosh and the son of former North Carolina and NBA point guard Charlie Scott, Shannon earned 22 minutes of court time – the most since logging 23 against Jackson State was back in mid-November. In that time, he dished out four assists, grabbed three rebounds and aided Craft both in handling the ball and defending out high. Matta complimented his effort and hinted at the possibility of using Scott with regularity down the stretch, which could provide Buford with a bit more rest and help the Buckeyes play more up-tempo.

This is a developing situation, but eventually Scott is going to have to be able to make an occasional shot if he wants to see pressure-cooker minutes.

S is for Smith, Lenzelle. OSU’s starting off-guard is, of course, no Jon Diebler and doesn’t even try to impersonate him. However, after he burned Indiana for 28 points when the Hoosiers stubbornly refused to guard him some developed unrealistic expectations for his value.

Smith is a garbage man, and I mean that with affection. He cleans up possessions and creates plays with sheer hustle, and he’s a fantastic rebounder for a 6-4 guard. He showed in spurts against Illinois as he has all year that he sometimes is in a higher gear than anyone else on the court not named Craft. He can take off with a rebound and create a three-on-two situation and usually makes the correct pass when he does so.

However, there is nothing in Smith’s shooting technique right now to suggest he’ll even be an effective bomber from the outside. After draining 4 of 5 threes vs. Indiana, Smith proceeded to connect of just two of his next 17 attempts from behind the arc. He is going to have to shoot it occasionally to threaten defenses but should never fall in love with launching threes.

Against Illinois, Smith seemed to have a perfect handle on his role. He was 1 of 2 from deep, made a couple layups and finished with seven points, three rebounds, three assists, one steal and just one turnover in 20 minutes of action.

If OSU is having a tough time knocking down shots he is likely to contribute a couple more offensive boards. If the game gets fast, he could log another assist or two. But basically he needs to defend, keep the ball moved, play within himself and use his high energy. Check marks in all those categories.

T is for television. The Buckeyes live on it. Tuesday’s tussle with Illinois was OSU’s sixth straight appearance on ESPN, which covers the month of February. That string will be broken when CBS airs the Wisconsin game on Sunday. What will Dan Dakich do with himself?

Counting Big Ten Network and ESPN2, every Ohio State game has been on national television this season except for one – the Dec. 3 matchup with Texas-Pan American.

U is for ubiquitous, which is as good a word as any to describe Craft. In the first minute of the game he ripped the ball cleanly away from Leonard and ended up with three steals, marking the 12th time this season he’s had at least that many in a game. His 65 thefts lead the Big Ten and even that stat doesn’t measure just what a pest he is on the hardwood.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo recently called him the best on-ball defender he’s ever seen and Weber couldn’t stop raving about him after the loss to the Buckeyes.

A 6-2, 190-pound sophomore, Craft told reporters last week that he’s always had an ability to play bothersome defense and puts a lot of pride into that part of his game. He helped shut down Paul and everyone else who came into his territory on Tuesday, committing just one foul in the process (more on that below).

He finished with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists and looked as sharp as he’s been in a while.

V is for vote. Craft is a candidate for the Cousy Award, Buford is a finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award and Matta is a ballot option in the Infiniti Coaches’ Charity Challenge. Fans can cast votes fir all three competitions and the easiest way is to go to the following URL: go.osu.edu.

You can find online ballots by typing in a backslash (/) and any of the following three choices: Vote4 Buford, Vote4Thad or Vote4CraftCousy.

W is for Wisconsin, the next team on the ledger. The Badgers (20-7, 9-5) have been up and down this season but guard Jordan Taylor is returning to All-American form and forward Mike Bruesewitz seems to be effective against the Buckeyes.

Coach Bo Ryan had to “Deal With It” after the Buckeyes clobbered UW to the tune of 93-65 in last year’s regular-season finale at The Schott but the Badgers have the ability to make this a plodding game much like Michigan State. Before the return engagement, Wisconsin has to do battle with Iowa in Iowa City on Thursday.

X is for X-factor, the self-proclaimed title of Deshaun Thomas. The 6-7 lefty sometimes get caught in a tough matchup at power forward but he’s creating more problems for opponents at the moment, playing some of the best basketball of his career.

Thomas did all he could to carry the Buckeyes at Michigan with 25 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. He stayed hot against UI, canning 6 of 8 shots, scoring a team-high 19 points and adding five rebounds. He also didn’t commit a turnover in 32 minutes. Thomas has scored in double figures in all but four games this season and is shooting a respectable 52.6 percent from the field. Not bad for someone who has been branded as flighty.

And DT is right: He is the X-factor. If he can ride a strong wave all the way through the end of March, this team just might be able to manage dangerous postseason waters.

Y is for youth. The Buckeyes have it in spades. It’s as if the experts and analysts forgot when they tagged OSU as a national title contender that the roster is littered with five freshmen, six sophomores, a junior who transferred into the program (Ravenel) and one senior.

Sure enough, Ohio State has shown a lack of savvy at times and Matta is still trying to figure out just what buttons to push.

The good news is that every other ranked team in the country has flaws of its own and the Buckeyes still have a little time to iron out some of the creases. If they can mature just a bit in the next couple weeks, the outlook could become brighter.

If the Buckeyes regress, ignore game plans, bicker and get too caught up in officials’ calls, well, dust off the tape of the Michigan State game to see how far that will get them.

Z is for zebras. Our little friends in the striped shirts. Game officials. Off-line tweeters, if you will.

This group hasn’t seemed particularly kind to Ohio State, which, coming into this season, had a well-earned reputation for playing effective defense without fouling in the Matta era. Suddenly, the Buckeyes seem victim to make-up calls, the little shoves that often go unpunished and plays that require interpretation, namely the old block/charge call.

After the Buckeyes were whistled for five charges at Michigan, Matta said, “It may be an NCAA record.” Even though he was joking you could see the concern in his face. If the referees are going to penalize the Buckeyes every other time they drive the basketball, Matta’s offensive options fizzle. And if Sullinger continues to deal with foul trouble down the stretch of the league season and after, his sophomore season – and possibly career – will wind up sooner rather than later.

Sullinger fouled out in just 27 minutes against Illinois. One looked like an incidental contact play tussling with for a rebound with Leonard. In fact, the officials took a good, long look at it on replay and saddled Sullinger with a flagrant foul. His fourth foul, and offensive push-off, came when he dropped his left arm down for a millisecond and caught a perfect lob pass arced over Leonard. Moments later, he bumped a turning Leonard in the post and was gone.

Sullinger hasn’t always been careful to avoid such infractions and could be smarter at times. But it sure appears that he simply doesn’t get away with a lot of plays that, quite frankly, the Greens of the world do.

Whether that’s true or not, the Buckeyes are either going to have to adjust or weather these next few league games before heading into the NCAA minefield.