Evanston, Ill. − Neither looked like they were at full health, but Ohio State was able to open its 86-82 win at Northwestern with starters John Mobley Jr. and Christoph Tilly both in the lineup.That much was not a given in the immediate aftermath of the one-point loss at Pittsburgh on Nov. 28, but coach Jake Diebler said both players did the work needed to get back on the court as the week progressed.“We were confident they were going to play,” Diebler said. “Felt like both those guys were going to give everything they had, but they were the two guys who didn’t have a lot of practice this week. It’s tricky because you want to give guys, Tilly is asking, ‘Coach, I need to get out there,’ but we need to get him healthy.”Tilly has been dealing with an unspecified lower leg injury for the past three games. He did not appear on the injury report for the Pitt game but struggled against the Panthers and was listed as questionable against Northwestern.Mobley, meanwhile, suffered a right ankle injury in the first half of that game and sat out the second half while wearing a walking boot. He, too, was questionable on the Northwestern availability report.The sophomore wasted no time showing he was feeling better, scoring on a drive and left-handed finish that required him to jump off that right ankle on the game’s first possession. He finished with 8 points on 3-of-7 shooting while playing 24:22. He did not score and only attempted one shot in nine second-half minutes and seemed to be more of a decoy than anything while on the floor.Tilly, who was just 1 for 8 against Pitt, finished with 4 points on 1-of-5 shooting and only played 17:57. He was partially limited by foul trouble, finishing with four, and also by Noel’s emergence as the Buckeyes played him at the center position at times to allow him to continue to impact the game.”Those guys have spent a lot of time to be able to play and thankful (for that) because they obviously didn’t play their best games but both of them stayed ready end of game,” Diebler said.More: Transfer center Christoph Tilly viewed as integral part in new-look Ohio State offenseThe senior center did not play during the second half of Ohio State’s 113-60 win against Mount St. Mary’s on Nov. 25. He went into the Pitt game having connected on 25 of 32 (78.1%) of his two-point shots but since has gone just 2 for 11 (18.2%). He also has just one assist in the last two games after entering the Pitt game second on the team in helpers.He did make two free throws and grab a rebound in the final 30 seconds as Ohio State closed the game out.They both appeared to come out of the game no worse for the wear, Diebler said, which bodes well for Tuesday’s home game against Illinois.“We’ll get a read after this but it feels like we came out in a good place for those two,” he said. “They’ve progressed health-wise since the Pitt game and we’ve got to continue to do that, but they’ll benefit from being able to be in practice every day and play a full practice and not be limited reps once we can get there.”Ohio State men’s basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Mobley, Tilly shake off injuries as Ohio State wins at Northwestern