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Preview: Ohio State at Indiana
Ohio State has a tenuous grasp on one of the four byes in the upcoming Big Ten tournament and can thank Indiana for the slight margin of error it has. The 20th-ranked Buckeyes, who play their final road game of the season on Sunday against the Hoosiers, held a half-game lead for fourth place over Iowa entering Thursday’s road tilt against Penn State in search of their seventh win in eight games. Instead, the Nittany Lions became the first conference foe since 2008-09 to sweep them.
With a home game against No. 18 Michigan State looming next weekend, Ohio State would be well-served to continue its recent domination of Indiana, which it has defeated in eight of the last 10 meetings. The Buckeyes caught a break later Thursday when the Hoosiers downed the Hawkeyes 93-86 at home in a game postponed nine days after a piece of metal fell from the ceiling of Assembly Hall on Feb. 18. Indiana is only a game out of a three-way tie for last place in the conference, but its most recent victory gave it three wins over ranked teams in Big Ten play.
TV: 4 p.m. ET, CBS
ABOUT OHIO STATE (22-7, 9-7 Big Ten): The Buckeyes surrendered 15 second-chance points against the Nittany Lions on only seven offensive rebounds. “It was one of those games where two guys pound the shot off the backboard and it bounces out and they hit a 3 on us — just little things like that was kind of the way the game went,” coach Thad Matta said following the game. Aaron Craft was perfect from the field (3-of-3) and foul line (1-of-1), but committed five turnovers despite being limited to a season-low 19 minutes due to foul trouble.
ABOUT INDIANA (16-12, 6-9): The Hoosiers have shot over 50 percent in all of their victories over ranked Big Ten foes, accounting for three of the four times they have managed to hit that mark during conference action. The Hawkeyes held Indiana’s top two scorers (Yogi Ferrell and Noah Vonleh) to a combined 12 points – nearly 18 below their combined season averages – but Will Sheehey exploded for a career-high 30. “He’s playing like the Will Sheehey that everyone has come to know, love and respect over the past couple of years,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said following the game.
TIP-INS
1. Matta’s .803 winning percentage in March is the third-best mark in Division I since he became the Ohio State coach prior to the start of the 2004-05 season.
2. Indiana is 13-3 at home this season and 48-6 in its last 54 games at Assembly Hall.
3. With 321 career steals, Craft needs four more to pass Bruce Douglas for first place in Big Ten history.
PREDICTION: Ohio State 68, Indiana 64
