Game Day Essentials:
Ohio State (11-9, 3-6) at Indiana (14-6, 5-4)
- Tip Time: 8:00 p.m. Eastern
- Location: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222), Bloomington, Indiana
- Television: FOX (Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson)
- Stream: Fox Sports
- IU Radio Network: IU Radio Network
- Point Spread: Indiana is a 5-point favorite
- KenPom Projected Score: No. 23 Indiana 76 No. 20 Ohio State 73
- Series: Indiana leads 109-88. Ohio State won last meeting 80-69 in OT on Feb. 21, 2022
Ohio State’s Chris Holtmann:
Chris Holtmann is in his 6th season as head coach of the Buckeyes.
He has made the NCAA Tournament in four of his five years in Columbus. The only year Ohio State didn’t make it was during the 2019-20 campaign when the Tournament was canceled due to COVID. The Buckeyes were 21-10 that season.
In the first four years as an Ohio State coach, Holtmann’s 87 combined wins are the third most behind Thad Matta’s 105 victories and Fred Taylor’s 89 victories, in Ohio State history.
Holtmann is just the second Ohio State coach, along with Matta, to win 20 or more games in each of his first five seasons in Columbus.
Before becoming head coach at Ohio State, Holtmann was the head coach of the Butler Bulldogs for three seasons. He finished with a 70-31 overall record and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
Holtmann, who graduated from Taylor University in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, was an NAIA All-American guard. He helped guide the Trojans to a 25-9 record, a No. 1 national ranking and a berth in the NAIA National Tournament in 1993-94.
Ohio State’s results and roster:
Ohio State began the season 10-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play. However, they are 1-6 in their last seven games.
Their most recent outing was a 69-60 loss at Illinois.
Ohio State Notes:
- Ohio State will complete a tough stretch of four road games in its last five when the Buckeyes head to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Saturday to take on Indiana.
- Saturday night will be the lone meeting between the two schools this season.
- Last year, the teams split a pair of games with each team winning on its home floor. Indiana raced out of the gate and led throughout in a 67-51 victory in the meeting in Bloomington. The Buckeyes then erased a late second half deficit and blitzed IU in overtime for an 80-69 victory in Columbus.
- The Buckeyes snapped a five-game losing skid last Saturday with a 93-77 victory over Iowa. But then they scored just 60 points in falling on the road earlier this week to Illinois 69-60.
- Freshman Brice Sensabaugh continues to lead Big Ten freshmen in scoring and he is second nationally at 17.4 points per game. His three-point percentage of .467 is tops among freshmen nationally who are averaging in double-figures. He has led the team in scoring 12 times this season, including each of the last 11 games.
- The Buckeyes are tops in the Big Ten and 13th nationally in three-point field goal percentage at 38.8 percent. On the other end of the floor, the Buckeye defense is limiting opponents to under 30 percent (29.3) which is in the Top 25 in the country.
- Ohio State is still averaging 77.0 ppg, third-best in the Big Ten, and have hit the 90-point mark five times this season.
- Senior captain Justice Sueing is just 10 points away from 1,500 in his career. He has scored 604 points in his Ohio State career.
- Sean McNeil has made at least one three-pointer in all but one game this season and has 192 in his career.
- Indiana opened Big Ten play just 1-4 but has since won its last four games and is now 5-4 in conference play. Trayce Jackson-Davis has shot over 60 percent and is averaging 24.6 points and 13.6 rebounds over the last five games.
Ohio State’s 2022-23 KenPom Highlights:
Tempo – No. 199 (Offense No. 202 / Defense No. 202)
Offensive Efficiency – No. 9
- Ohio State’s effective field percentage of 52.6 percent is No. 75 nationally. They are No. 171 nationally in two-point percentage (50.2) and rank No. 10 in three-point percentage (38.8).
- The Buckeyes take care of the ball, only turning it over on 16.0 percent of possessions, No. 32.
- Ohio State is active on the glass, securing offensive rebounds on 33.7 percent of possessions, No. 43.
- OSU doesn’t take a lot of free throws (28 percent free throw rate, No. 275), and they don’t shoot a high volume of threes (three-pointer rate 30.6 percent, No. 326).
Defensive Efficiency – No. 76
- Ohio State ranks No. 27 in overall opponent effective field goal percentage (46.0), including No. 18 in three-point percentage (29.3) and No. 80 in two-point percentage (47.2).
- Teams don’t get to the foul line a great deal against OSU. Their opposing free throw rate is 27.4 percent, No. 89.
- The Buckeyes are more sound than aggressive defensively, as they turn opponents over on just 17.1 percent of possessions, No. 265.
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