With just two games remaining in the regular season, the Illini find themselves nearing the end of an intense stretch of basketball. By the time regular season play comes to a close on Sunday at the Assembly Hall, Illinois (18-11, 10-6 Big Ten) will have played six teams ranked in the Top 25 in an eight-game stretch.

The Illini are the only team in the country that will wrap up the season with six contests against ranked opponents.

And six Top-25 teams in eight games marks a first in school history.

“It’s been a tough stretch, one of the toughest that I can remember any college basketball team ever going though. So it hasn’t been easy, and we need to finish it strong,” junior center Mike Tisdale said.

“You want to be good, you have to play the best,” Tisdale added. “So I guess if we want to be good here, we’re going to have to win the next two.”

Game seven of that stretch happens Tuesday, when the Illini travel to Columbus, Ohio, to take on No. 6 Ohio State (23-7, 13-4) for the second time this season.

The first meeting between the two teams happened Feb. 14 at the Assembly Hall, when the Buckeyes handed Illinois a 72-53 defeat.

After the game, Ohio State junior guard/forward Evan Turner called the game a “Valentine’s Day massacre” on his Twitter account.

Illinois junior forward Mike Davis hasn’t forgotten the jab.

“We still remember Evan Turner’s tweet where he said it was a ‘Valentine’s Day massacre,’ so we’re taking that to heart,” Davis said.

“That’s a diss to us, especially with our home court,” he added. “So we’ve got to take that to the heart (Tuesday), go out there (Tuesday) and just play our butts off.”

In the February contest, Ohio State used the zone defense to baffle the Illini. And considering Illinois’ first-half performance against the zone in Saturday’s loss to Minnesota, head coach Bruce Weber is expecting to see more of the same Tuesday.

“We didn’t deal with the zone very well on Saturday against Minnesota, either,” Weber said. “So if they’re watching film, I would anticipate that they would do that.”

But the Illini may be more prepared to attack the different defensive style Tuesday.

“The key is penetration, really,” Davis said. “Demetri (McCamey) is good enough to get into the gaps and kick — D.J. (Richardson) also. So I think if we do that, screen a little bit, hit some open shots hopefully (Tuesday) and Ohio State’s not as hot as they were here, we do have a chance to win.”

For Weber, the key lies with the ability of the Illinois offense to hit its shots and force the Buckeyes back into man-to-man, where the Illini are more comfortable.

“If you make a couple shots, get off to a good start, they’re probably going to get out of it,” Weber said. “They may go back into it off and on. Some of it is the attack.

“The first game, we weren’t even in the right spots where we were supposed to be,” Weber added.

“So we watched that (Sunday) to just to show them, and we’ll continue to watch some things.”

Turner leads the way for the Ohio State offense and leads the Big Ten in scoring and rebounding, averaging 19.7 points a game and grabbing 9.3 rebounds. The junior’s 5.9 assist average is good for second in the conference behind his high school teammate, Illinois junior guard Demetri McCamey, who averages 6.9.

But Buckeyes head coach Thad Matta isn’t counting out the Illini offense, even after their lackluster performance in Champaign.

“They missed some open shots against us, and we can’t bank on the fact that’s going to happen again,” Matta said. “I know that from the way they shot the ball against Minnesota in the second half.”

There’s plenty at stake for both teams Tuesday. An Ohio State win would secure, at minimum, a share of the conference championship for the Buckeyes. The Illini can secure a top-five seed and first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament.

Weber used the analogy of a shark biting the Illini by the leg and pulling them down. But Davis has an answer for that.

“We’re bleeding right now and the sharks are coming to pull us under,” Davis said. “But hopefully with these last two games we can play spoiler against Ohio State (on Tuesday) … and we can enhance our resume.”