Indiana needed a bounce back performance and they got it in a big way.
For the first time in what seems like a long time, the Hoosiers put away a ranked opponent convincingly with a 67-51 win over No. 13 Ohio State on Thursday night.
Let’s take a deeper look at how the Hoosiers defeated the Buckeyes with another edition of The Report Card.
IU (11-3, 2-2) will next host Minnesota on Sunday. That game tips at Noon Eastern at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
OFFENSE (B)
You aren’t going to win many games by double-figures when you shoot 2-of-15 from three, but that’s exactly what Indiana did. And that just speaks to how good the Hoosiers were at everything else on both ends of the floor.
Ohio State doesn’t look to force turnovers, but still Indiana’s nine gave them plenty of possessions to overcome their shooting struggles. Only one of the turnovers was committed by a guard. Their 13.3 percent turnover rate was the third best of the season, with two of three coming in the last two games.
The Hoosiers made the most of their opportunities at the free throw line, making 15-of-18 from the stripe. That was their best percentage at the line in over a year. They posted the same numbers on Jan. 4, 2021 against Maryland. Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson combined to go 10-of-11.
Indiana dominated in the paint with a 38-10 edge, and they used transition to their advantage with 17 fast break points, many of which came from OSU turnovers. IU also had 11 offensive rebounds which led to nine second chance points.
Coming off the loss to Penn State head coach Mike Woodson said they would run more actions to create shots for Miller Kopp and Parker Stewart, and that was the case. Indiana ran a variety of sets involving screens for the sharpshooters. They got up eight attempts from long range, but made just one.
“They got good looks,” Woodson said. “I mean, we didn’t shoot the three ball again tonight, so we’ve got to go back to the gym and start shooting more, which we’ve been doing that, but maybe we’ve got to shoot a lot more, man.
“I don’t know. I mean, I ran some plays for them tonight just to see if they could respond, and they just missed some shots. I’m going to keep pushing them and I’m going to keep going at them and going to them, and they’ll eventually make them.”
The missed threes led to IU’s second worst effective field goal percentage of the season — 42.6 percent.
DEFENSE (A)
It sounded like pre-game hyperbole, but Ohio State’s Chris Holtmann said earlier this week Indiana’s defense was the best they would face to this point in the season.
He had the same thoughts afterwards.
“I thought it (Indiana’s defense) was really good,” Holtmann said. “We obviously have to figure out a better plan, better attack. We’ve got to do some things better, but give them a lot of credit. I thought their defense was as good as we thought it was going to be.”
“I just think having Trayce (Jackson-Davis) on the back line really presents a lot of problems. His ability to play on the back line and do some things. But, all in all we missed some open shots too, but give their defense credit.”
This was the lowest scoring output in a game by Ohio State this season. In fact, Indiana’s defense held Ohio State to nearly 26 points under its season average of 76.7 points per game.
And the defense seemed to improve as the game went on. In the last 10:01 of the game, Indiana went on a 21-6 run to close out the win.
Coming into the game OSU was top-25 in both 2-pointers (55.6 percent, No. 21) and 3-pointers (39.7 percent, No. 10). But the IU defense forced Ohio State to 30.8 percent shooting from the field while going 29.6 percent from 3-point range. In the second half alone, the Buckeyes only converted on 6-of-23 shot attempts (26.1 percent). In addition, OSU was 1-of-9 on two-point field goal attempts in the final 20 minutes.
Ohio State’s points per possession (.754), effective field goal percentage (38.5) and turnover rate (22.2) were all season-bests for Indiana against high-major competition.
OTHER GAME COVERAGE
- Final box score, keys to the game and specialty stats
- Mike Woodson, Jackson-Davis, Galloway post-game
- Jackson-Davis responds to Woodson’s challenge
- Extended highlights:
THE PLAYERS
Trayce Jackson-Davis (A) Jackson-Davis was next-level from the opening tip, when he won that and then sprinted to the block, beating his man and drawing a foul. He just wanted it more all night, sprinting, rebounding and influencing shots. And he was efficient from the field and made free throws. Jackson-Davis did have four turnovers, perhaps a somewhat acceptable byproduct of his effort.
Race Thompson (A-) As so often happens when Jackson-Davis explodes, Thompson was the steady guy in the shadows. His most noteworthy work came on the defensive end where he played a major role in forcing E.J. Liddell into a quiet night.
Miller Kopp (B-) Kopp was 0-for-3 from long range, but he was able to score a couple times off the bounce — an encouraging sign. To be fair, a couple of his dribble drives also resulted in turnovers. Although he started, Kopp lost minutes in this one as others were more effective.
Parker Stewart (B-) It was a tough shooting night, but Stewart competed and contributed two steals, two assists and no turnovers. OSU was clearly trying to isolate him against Malaki Branham, and it worked at times. But Stewart was physical and aggressive and didn’t back down, committing four fouls in the process and getting some stops along the way.
Xavier Johnson (B) Fans won’t like the 1-of-7 shooting effort, and that’s understandable. But for the most part Johnson was composed and there were simply stretches in the game when OSU was giving him those looks. Indiana was solid defensively when he was on the court, and Johnson didn’t have issues with fouls or turnovers.
Jordan Geronimo (B+) Geronimo hit a big 3-pointer to tie the game at 16 as IU dug out of an early 15-7 hole. He contributed to the defense on Liddell, and added a block and a steal on that end.
Rob Phinisee (B) The shots weren’t falling in this one as Phinisee regressed in that area after a few good games. But he was solid in all other areas.
Trey Galloway (A+) All gas no brakes has become a basketball cliché, but Galloway exemplified the expression with high-energy play on both ends throughout. Individual +/- for one game doesn’t always tell a true story, but Galloway’s +17 in just 19 minutes certainly does. He probed effectively on offense, scored at the rim, and tormented the Buckeyes on the defensive end with steals and deflections. Indiana was a different, and much better team when he was on the floor, and Galloway was left on the floor in crunch time.
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Tamar Bates and Michael Durr appeared in the game briefly.
Anthony Leal and Khristian Lander did not play.
Logan Duncomb was not in uniform due to a lower leg injury.
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