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    Indiana at Ohio State — Live discussion thread

    Owen GrahamBy IU Basketball 49 Comments

    Game Day essentials:

    Ohio State (13-9, 3-8) vs. Indiana (13-9, 5-6)

    • Tip Time: 7:00 p.m. Eastern, Tuesday
    • Location: Value City Arena (18,800), Columbus, Ohio.
    • Television: Peacock (Jac Collingsworth, Robbie Hummel)
    • Stream: Peacock
    • IU Radio Network: IU Radio Network
    • Point Spread: Ohio State is around a 5.5 point favorite.
    • KenPom Projected Score: No. 100 Indiana 70 – No. 64 Ohio State 76
    • Series History: Indiana leads, 111-88.

    Three keys from last meeting:

    Indiana defeated Ohio State 71-65 on Jan. 6.

    1. Second half defense/Second half Reneau.  Indiana’s defense improved substantially after the break.  The Hoosiers held Ohio State to 28 percent shooting in the second half including 2-of-12 from three, while forcing seven Buckeye turnovers. Meanwhile, as he’s done many times this season, sophomore forward Malik Reneau took over in the second half, pouring in 19 second half points on his way to 23 for the game.

    2. Xavier Johnson and CJ Gunn provide sparks, Galloway facilitates.  Guard play has been an issue for Indiana, but they got major contributions.  With a game under his belt off injury, Xavier Johnson was a major factor with 18 points, 3 assists and no turnovers.  C.J. Gunn scored 10 off the bench, and Trey Galloway had seven assists and just one turnover.

    3. Hoosiers take care of the ball.  Indiana committed just four turnovers on the night, while forcing 14 on Buckeye miscues.  This came directly after a 19 turnover performance against Nebraska earlier in the week.  The improved ball security helped IU overcome a disastrous night on the glass.  Ohio State outrebounded the Hoosiers 49-27 and snared 22 offensive boards.

    Ohio State’s results and roster

    DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME/RESULT
    11/6/2023 Oakland Columbus, Ohio W 79-73
    11/10/2023 #15 Texas A&M Columbus, Ohio L 66-73
    11/15/2023 Merrimack Columbus, Ohio W 76-53
    11/19/2023 Western Michigan Columbus, Ohio W 73-56
    11/24/2023 vs. Alabama (Emerald Coast Classic) Niceville, Fla. W 92-81
    11/25/2023 vs. Santa Clara (Emerald Coast Classic) Niceville, Fla. W 86-56
    11/29/2023 Central Michigan Columbus, Ohio W 88-61
    12/3/2023 Minnesota Columbus, Ohio W 84-74
    12/6/2023 Miami (Ohio) Columbus, Ohio W 84-64
    12/9/2023 at Penn State University Park, Pa. L 80-83
    12/16/2023 vs. UCLA (CBS Sports Classic) Atlanta, Ga. W 67-60
    12/21/2023 New Orleans Columbus, Ohio W 78-36
    12/30/2023 West Virginia Columbus, Ohio W 78-75
    1/3/2024 Rutgers Columbus, Ohio W 76-72
    1/6/2024 at Indiana Bloomington, Ind. L 65-71
    1/10/2024 Wisconsin Columbus, Ohio L 60-71
    1/15/2024 at Michigan Ann Arbor, Mich. L 65-73
    1/20/2024 Penn State Columbus, Ohio W 79-67
    1/23/2024 at Nebraska Lincoln, Neb. L 69-83
    1/27/2024 at Northwestern Evanston, Ill. L 58-83
    1/30/2024 Illinois Columbus, Ohio L 75-87
    2/2/2024 at Iowa Iowa City, Iowa L 77-79

    Ohio State’s game notes (via OSU Athletics)

    • Ohio State battled Iowa in a back-and-forth game but fell on the road 79-77 last Friday night. Forward Jamison Battle led four Buckeyes in double figures with 17 points on 3-of-5 from long range. Big man Felix Okpara tied a career-high with 14 points to go along with a game-high eight rebounds and two blocks. Bruce Thornton also had 14 points and five assists.
    • Thornton leads the country in assist-to-turnover ratio, dishing out 97 assists and committing just 21 turnovers. He has had at least two assists in every game and has had 18 assists and three turnovers over the last four games.
    • Okpara is one of two players in the country (with at least 15 games) to have one or more blocked shots in every game they have played. He is third in the Big Ten and 11th in the country with 52 blocked shots this season.
    • Freshman Devin Royal has come off the bench and provided a spark over the past month. He has scored 35 points in roughly 52 minutes of action since Jan. 15 on 14-of-23 (.609) shooting. Royal is coming off of playing a season-high 17:21 at Iowa and finished with nine points and three rebounds.
    • Battle’s shooting 45 percent from long range, which is sixth-best in the country and tops in the Big Ten. The 6-7 forward is also the only Big Ten player on the Julius Erving Award late season watch list.

    Ohio State’s KenPom notable numbers:

    (out of 362 teams)

    Tempo – No. 309 (Offense No. 306 / Defense No. 125)

    Offensive Efficiency – No. 42

    • The Buckeyes hold a 51 effective field goal percentage so far on the season. As a team, they’re shooting 34.2 percent from three (No. 158) and 50.7 percent from two (No. 158).
    • Ohio State takes care of the ball fairly well on offense. Their turnover rate sits at 15.3 percent (No. 64) and the opposing team’s steal rate is at 7.3 percent (No. 21).
    • OSU is a good offensive rebounding team, grabbing 33.6 percent of their misses (No. 54).

    Defensive Efficiency – No. 122

    • Opposing teams have an effective field goal percentage of 49.5 percent against Ohio State (No. 127). Teams are shooting 35.7 percent from three (No. 294) and 47.4 percent from two (No. 69).
    • The Buckeyes don’t force a lot of turnovers on the defensive side. They’re forcing takeaways at a 15.5 percent rate (No. 294) and steal the ball at a 7.7 percent rate (No. 302).
    • Teams are not getting to the free throw line a great deal, with the opposing free throws rate (FTA/FGA) at just 26.6 percent (No. 41).

    Extras

    • Bruce Thornton has the 46th-best turnover rate in the country.
    • Jamison Battle has the 43rd-best 3pt percentage in the country.
    • Zed Key has a 14.4 offensive rebound percentage, which is good for No. 35 in the nation.

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