It certainly wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing 40 minutes of basketball, but the Hoosiers held off a surging Ohio State in the second half and won in Dan Dakich’s home debut, 72-69.

Though Indiana had a poor shooting first half from three-point land — they finished a woeful 5-of-25 for the game — it lead by as much as 13 thanks to defense that limited Ohio State in the early going and Armon Bassett who tallied 13 points by the break. He finished with a game high 23.

But in the second half, IU got sloppy — I’m looking at you Eric Gordon — and freshman Evan Turner and Kosta Koufos took over for the Bucks. Koufos more than held his own against D.J. White — even tallying a few blocks and showing off his three-point range. He finished with 21 points and six boards. Turner has 13 points on the night.

Steve Lavin and Brett Musberger talked all night about the NBA scouts in attendance at Assembly Hall and you wonder if that affected Gordon at all. It’s clear at this point his ball handling needs work. It’s getting increasingly frustrating watching EJ drive to the rim, only to have it flutter away or an opponent draw a charge. He has seven turnovers in IU’s win. EJ shot 25 percent from the floor and finished with 17 points. Without his ability to draw fouls, Gordon might be finding himself with a much lower scoring average on the year.

With the win, IU stays in the hunt for at least a share of the Big Ten title. The Hoosiers are 24-4 on the year and 13-2 in the Big Ten. They return to action Sunday afternoon at Michigan State to take on the Spartans.

Related:

• Box Score

Indiana (20-3, 9-1 Big Ten) took sole possession of second-place in the conference with an impressive 59-53 win over Ohio State in Value City Arena on Sunday afternoon.

After several ESPN analysts hammered the Hoosiers on Saturday night for their absence of a win over an RPI top 50 team (Illinois State is actually No. 49), Kelvin Sampson’s club played brilliantly from start to finish and picked up a “signature” win of sorts. Ohio State is currently No. 32 in the RPI.

D.J. White had another double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds and Eric Gordon added 15 points. Gordon hit four free throws in the final minute.

Jordan Crawford started alongside Gordon in the backcourt and had eight points, seven assists and six rebounds. More importantly, Crawford had no turnovers. Indiana committed just six turnovers.

Kosta Koufos led the Buckeyes (16-8, 7-4) with 18 points and nine rebounds. Fellow freshman Jon Diebler had 14 points.

The Hoosiers will return to Assembly Hall on Wednesday for a three-game homestand against Wisconsin, Michigan State and Purdue. Wednesday’s game against Wisconsin will be on the Big Ten Network.

Related:

• Box score

The Hoosiers are finishing up their cupcakes and the New Year is nearly upon us, which can mean only one thing: It’s Big Ten Preview Time! Here’s a look at the teams that will challenge the Hoosiers for the conference crown … or fall under the weighty boot of crimson dominance. Probably the latter. Today: THE Ohio State University.

See that handsome man to your right? That’s Greg Oden. He went to Ohio State last year and was real good. Now he’s in the NBA. So are fellow stellar freshman of a year ago, Daequan Cook and Mike Conley Jr. (Can you imagine if these guys stuck around this year? Next year? The year after? Wow.) Obviously, when you lose your starting point guard and an incredible presence down low in Oden, your team is going to take a big hit.

And that’s exactly where Ohio State is right now. The Buckeyes stand at 8-3 on the season — good, but not great. They had an embarrassing exhibition loss to Findlay back at the beginning of November and haven’t trumped anyone of note, save for a win against Florida at home last weekend. But, this is not to say Ohio State is devoid of weapons. Freshman Kosta Koufas is the big man up front, averaging just a pinch under 16 points a game. Jamar Butler and David Lighty are still doing their thing, too. Also, watch out for freshman Scrappy McScrapperson Jon Diebler. Take a look at his bio. Dude put up some insane numbers as a high schooler in Ohio. He scored 77 points in a game once and holds the Ohio record for most career points. (Take that LeBron James.)

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Even with the realization that we’re around 80 days from Midnight Madness tipping off across the Big 10, it’s never too early to start talking about the year to come.

As the countdown to October 12 (yes, I’m already counting) continues, Inside the Hall will break down the conference piece-by-piece each week.

Our first stop on the countdown to October is breaking down the top five newcomers to watch in 2007-2008. Here are the names, in no particular order:

- Corperryale “Manny” Harris, 6′4″, guard, Michigan

Harris is the type of player who will thrive under new head coach John Beilein’s style of play. An aggressive offensive player who loves to make things happen, Harris can score the ball with the best of them. He’s got a knack for making tough shots when they count the most. He was Mr. Basketball in the state of Michigan this past season, beating out the likes of Durrell Summers, Darquavis Tucker and Kalin Lucas. If the Wolverines are to find themselves back in the NCAA tournament, Harris will be front and center in leading the charge.

- Eric Gordon, 6′4″, guard, Indiana

Gordon is a scoring machine who can attack the basket and get to the foul line or burn you from beyond the three-point arc. His range is truly unlimited. Ranked by some analysts as the top player nationally in the class of 2007, Gordon was both a McDonald’s All-American and a Jordan Brand All-Star. Projected to slot in immediately as a do-it-all guard for the Hoosiers, Gordon will likely be a frontrunner for Big 10 Player of the Year.

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