Ohio State vs Illinois live stream: How to watch Big Ten Championship game without cable

Ohio State vs Illinois live stream
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Ohio State vs Illinois channel, start time

The Ohio State vs Illinois live stream is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. today (Sunday, March 14).
It's on CBS, which means it's available on Paramount Plus and Fubo TV, among other services.

The Ohio State vs Illinois live stream is live with the last game before the Selection Sunday live stream. And fortunately for us, it's a treat with two of the country's top ranked teams. 

With #9 Ohio State and #3 Illinois locks to make the tournament, these two teams will battle it out for a conference title and bragging rights in this Big Ten Tournament live stream. Both the Buckeyes and Fighting Illini are coming off 20-plus win seasons and both are led by dynamic scorers. However they enter Sunday after much different semifinal match-ups.

Illinois is coming off a comfortable 82-71 win over #5 Iowa Saturday night. The Illini were led by sophomore center Kofi Cockburn who matched a career high with 26 points. Cockburn scored all his points in the paint and at the foul line, which helped his team overcome shooting just 3 of 15 from beyond the three-point line. Illinois’ leading scorer for the season, Ayo Dosunmu netted 18 points in the win.   

Ohio State looked like they were on their way to a similar semifinal experience to Illinois. The Buckeyes battle through a tough game before finding themselves leading Michigan by 13 points with 4:19 left. Then the Wolverines started hitting shots, going on a 17-5 run to shrink their deficit to one. With two seconds on the clock, Michigan senior guard Mike Smith took a step back 3-pointer for the win, but missed. Ohio State won 68-67. Junior guard Duane Washington led the way for the Buckeyes with a game high 24 points.      

These teams split their season series with the road team winning each time. Illinois enters Sunday as 6-point favorites with the over/under at 150. The Buckeyes are not expected to have senior guard and team leader Kyle Young for the Big 10 Championship. Young suffered a concussion in Friday’s win over Perdue, his second in three weeks.

How to watch Ohio State vs Illinois live streams with a VPN

Hoops fans, if for some reason you've had to leave your own "bubble" — or you can't get CBS or Paramount Plus where you are for some strange reason — and you can't watch the Ohio State vs Illinois live stream, you're not out of luck. With a virtual private network, or VPN, you can appear to be surfing the web from your home town (or somewhere that blackouts won't hit), and access the same streaming services you already paid for. 

Not sure which VPN is right for you? We've tested many different services and our pick for the best VPN overall is ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN offers superb speeds and excellent customer service, and IPVanish's low pricing is shocking.

ExpressVPN

We think speed, security and simplicity make ExpressVPN second to none. During our tests, we saw fast connection times, and we're impressed by the service's ability to access more than 3,000 services spread out across 160 locations in 94 countries. There's a 30-day money-back guarantee if you're not satisfied.

Ohio State vs Illinois live streams in the US

In the US, the Selection Sunday bracket airs on CBS at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 14. You can watch it all on one of our favorite streaming services: fuboTV, as well as Paramount Plus, the latest streaming service on the block. 

Fubo.TV:a 7-day free trial

Fubo.TV: One of the best streaming services with CBS, and the top pick for watching all many sports live streams, Fubo has all of the right network channels and the two cable channels you don't want to go without. Who needs cable? Not Fubo subscribers. It's got a 7-day free trial so you don't need to pay up front.

Paramount Plus free trial: One month with code MOUNTAIN

Paramount Plus free trial: One month with code MOUNTAIN
To celebrate its launch on March 4, Paramount Plus is extending its usual week-long free trial to last an entire month. That gives you plenty of time to see everything the streaming service has to offer, from blockbuster movies to classic comedies to originals like Star Trek: Picard.

When March Madness begins in earnest, though, you might be better off with the combination of Sling and Paramount Plus for CBS. Sling gets you TruTV, TBS and TNT, which aren't on Fubo.

Ohio State vs Illinois live streams in the UK

American basketball fans unable to watch the tournament while travelling may need to check out a service such as ExpressVPN, as we can't find the Ohio State vs Illinois in UK streaming services.

Ohio State vs Illinois live streams in Canada

We can't tell how many of the college basketball games will be airing on TSN, but we can see it has some tournament matchups — just not this. Completists without a way to watch the games, though should — like those in the UK — take a VPN service such as ExpressVPN for a spin.

Marc Farzetta

Marc is a contributing sportswriter at Tom’s Guide covering the NFL, NBA and MLB as well as various other leagues. He is a graduate of Temple University where he studied Broadcasting and Journalism. Marc’s previous stops include the Trenton Times and NBC Sports Philadelphia. He also worked on the production crew of NBC Sunday Night Football for 11 seasons. When not working, Marc is probably sipping his next espresso to get him ready for more work.