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    IU basketball game day essentials: Indiana looks to get back on track vs. Ohio State

    Mike SchumannBy IU Basketball 28 Comments
    Photo By Indiana Athletics

    Game Day Essentials:

    Ohio State (12-2, 2-1) vs. Indiana (10-4, 2-1)

    • Tip Time: 8:00 p.m. Eastern, Saturday
    • Location: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222), Bloomington, Ind.
    • Television: FOX (Gus Johnson, Jim Jackson, Allison Williams)
    • Stream:  FOX
    • IU Radio Network: IU Radio Network
    • Point Spread:  Ohio State is a 1.5 point favorite.
    • KenPom Projected Score: No. 93 Indiana 73 – No. 29 Ohio State 76
    • Series: Indiana leads series, 110-88.

    Additional Game Coverage

    Ohio State’s Chris Holtmann

    Chris Holtmann is in his seventh season at the helm of the Buckeyes in 2023-24.  Holtmann became the 14th head coach in Ohio State history when he was named to the position June 9, 2017.

    He was named the 2018 Big Ten Coach of the Year after leading the Buckeyes to a 25-9 overall record, a No. 2 finish in the Big Ten regular-season standings (15-3) and a Second Round appearance in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

    Holtmann is just the second Ohio State coach to win 20 or more games in each of his first five seasons in Columbus joining Thad Matta.In the first four years as an Ohio State coach, Holtmann’s 87 combined wins (2018/25, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/21) are the third most behind Thad Matta’s 105 victories (in 2005/20, 2006/26, 2007/35, 2008/24) and Fred Taylor’s 89 (1959/11, 1960/25, 1961, 27, 1962/26) in Ohio State history.

    Holtmann teams have won an opening-round game in the NCAA Tournament in six of the last eight years in which the NCAA Tournament was contested.

    Holtmann spent the 2013-14 season as an assistant coach for Butler before being named interim head coach in October 2014 and then being elevated to head coach at Butler in January 2015.

    Holtmann, one of only two coaches in Butler history to lead the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first three seasons — Brad Stevens is the other — garnered BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors in 2017, in addition to being named a finalist for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award.

    Ohio State’s results and roster

    DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME/RESULT
    10/22/2023 at Dayton (Exh.) Dayton, Ohio W 78-70
    11/6/2023 Oakland Columbus, Ohio W 79-73
    11/10/2023 Texas A&M Columbus, Ohio L 66-73
    11/15/2023 Merrimack Columbus, Ohio W 76-52
    11/19/2023 Western Michigan (Emerald Coast Classic) Columbus, Ohio W 73-56
    11/24/2023 vs. #21 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, OH 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 Atlanta, Ga. W 67-60
    12/21/2023 New Orleans Columbus, Ohio W 78-36
    12/30/2023 vs. West Virginia Cleveland, Ohio W 78-75
    1/3/2024 Rutgers Columbus, OH W 76-72

    Ohio State game notes (via OSU Athletics)

    • Last year, the teams met just once as Indiana claimed an 80-68 victory in Bloomington on Jan. 28. Brice Sensabaugh scored 23 points, but a big Indiana run to close the first half turned out to be the difference in the game.

    • The Buckeyes resumed Big Ten play on Wednesday night with a 76-72 victory over Rutgers in Columbus. Bruce Thornton scored a game-high 24 points and dished-out a career-high seven assists. Jamison Battle made his first five three-pointers and finished with a season-high six threes for 22 points. Roddy Gayle Jr., coming off a career-high 32 points last Saturday, scored all 11 of his points in the second half, including a big three- pointer and a pair of clutch free throws in the final 1:29.

    • Ohio State is off to its best start in five seasons at 12-2. A win Saturday would be the best start for the Buckeyes under head coach Chris Holtmann and the best since the team won its first 15 games of the 2013-14 season.

    • Head coach Chris Holtmann is one win away from 250 in his career. He has 135 wins at Ohio State, which is the fifth-most by a Buckeye head coach.

    • After making just one three-pointer in the win over UCLA, the Buckeyes have made 30 three-pointers over the last three games.

    • Jamison Battle was 6-of-9 from long range in the win over Rutgers and has made a Big Ten leading 42 three pointers on the season. He has also attempted the most threes (94) and is shooting the best percentage (44.7) of any Big Ten player this season. Battle’s next three will be the 300th of his career.

    • Point guard Bruce Thornton is the first Buckeye since Michael Redd (1998-00) to start each of the first 49 games of his career. Saturday will be his 50th. Thornton had a season-high three turnovers in the first nine minutes of the game vs. Rutgers on Wednesday. But he played the final 31 minutes without a turnover and notched a career-high seven assists.

    • Big man Zed Key will be playing in his 100th career game on Saturday night.

    Ohio State’s KenPom notable numbers:

    (out of 362 teams)

    Tempo – No. 249 (Offense No. 283 / Defense No. 88)

    Offensive Efficiency – No. 22

    • OSU’s overall effective field goal percentage is 52.9 percent, good for No. 82 nationally.  They are best from 3-point range where they make 37.9 percent (No. 25), while making 50.5 percent (No. 166) from two.
    • Despite shooting it well from three, Ohio State doesn’t force it from outside the arc.  Only 37.6 percent of their total shots are threes, the 174th most nationally.
    • Grabbing 35.8 percent of their misses, the Buckeyes are No. 31 nationally in offensive rebounding percentage.  Zed Key’s personal 15.6 percent rate is No. 23.

    Defensive Efficiency – No. 56

    • The Buckeyes allow teams to shoot an effective field goal percentage of 46.3 percent overall (No. 52), including 30.7 percent from three (No. 70), and 46.5 percent from two (No. 65)
    • OSU is middle of the road when it comes to forcing turnovers with an 18.2 percent rate, No. 147.
    • Ohio State opponents only assist on 38.8 percent of field goals, the sixth lowest rate in the nation.

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