The Minute After: Ohio State

Photos from IU basketball's 91-78 loss at Ohio State.

Thoughts on a 91-78 loss to Ohio State:

The Hoosiers entered this game as the underdog and certainly ended it with their tail between their legs.

Indiana had a prime opportunity to pick up a Quad 1 win this evening, to sneak back onto the right side of the bubble. But the Hoosiers got worked over by the Buckeyes instead.

IU has struggled to guard the best offensive teams in the Big Ten this season. That was the case again tonight. Ohio State got whatever it wanted in the first half, scoring 1.46 points per possession. It set the tone in this one. The Hoosiers trailed by 17 at half (50-33), their largest halftime deficit of the season. For the game, they had no answer for the size and athleticism of Amare Bynum (7-of-10, 18 points) or Bruce Thornton’s steady coolness (7-of-9, 25 points). John Mobley Jr. also had 18 points, but was an inefficient 5-of-15 from the floor and 3-of-11 from 3-point range.

While Mobley Jr. struggled from deep, the rest of his teammates did not. They combined to go 8-of-13 from distance, leading the Buckeyes to an 11-of-24 mark (45.8 percent) from distance.

“I would say in this stretch, outside of the Minnesota game, we’ve given up too many 3s,” Darian DeVries said after the game. “Too high of percentages. Too many looks. That’s really caught up to us in those games.”

Ohio State finished the contest at 1.34 points per possession and an effective field goal percentage of 70. Its 91 points were their second-highest in conference play this season. Meanwhile, this is Indiana’s seventh Big Ten loss by 13 or more points. It’s IU’s fifth loss in its last six tries. It’s another opportunity squandered.

Had the Hoosiers not gotten down so big in the first half, the second half could have been much more interesting. Indiana had a strong offensive outing over the final 20 minutes. The Hoosiers made 15-of-23 from the field (65.2 percent) and 4-of-10 (40 percent) from 3-point range and the live box score had them at 1.45 points per possession. They scored 45 points. Their 78 points overall are tied for the most they’ve scored in a loss this season.

But they were only able to pick up four points on the Buckeyes from halftime by the time the final buzzer sounded. They trailed by as many as 24 points in the second half and never got closer than 10. It never really felt like Indiana seriously threatened. Because they really didn’t.

Indiana won the extra-opportunity points for a second straight game. The Hoosiers bested the Buckeyes 9-7 in second-chance points and 16-13 in points of turnovers. The Hoosiers had five players in double figures, from Lamar Wilkerson (18 points) to Tucker DeVries (17 points) to Sam Alexis (14 points) to Conor Enright (12 points) to Reed Bailey (12 points).

Of course, as always, there’s still a chance at a run in the Big Ten tournament to try and get back on the right side of the bubble.

But given how things are trending, how Indiana just hasn’t been able to keep up with the Big Ten’s better teams, it’s hard to see it happening.

Indiana finishes the season under .500 in league play for the first time since the 2021-2022 season. And its NCAA tournament hopes seem just about sunk, too.

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

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