Game Day Essentials:
Indiana (13-5, 4-3) vs. Ohio State (10-7, 2-4)
- Tip Time: 8 p.m. Eastern, Friday
- Location: Value City Arena (19,049), Columbus, Ohio
- Television: FOX (Gus Johnson, Jim Jackson)
- Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, John Herrick)
- Stream: Fox Sports
- Point Spread: Ohio State is a 7.5-point favorite
- KenPom Projected Score: Ohio State 77 Indiana 70
- History: Indiana leads, 112-88.
- Last Meeting: IU 76, OSU 73 on Feb. 6, 2024, in Columbus
- Tickets (via our StubHub affiliate link)
Ohio State’s Jake Diebler
Jake Diebler is in his first full season as head coach of the Ohio State men’s basketball program. After serving time as interim head coach last season, Diebler was officially named head coach on March 17th, 2024.
Diebler had a four-year playing career with Valparaiso before eventually becoming a student assistant at his alma mater in 2009. After two seasons, he was promoted to an assistant position under Bryce Drew, who currently coaches at Grand Canyon University. Diebler would then take a video coordinator position at Ohio State, serving there from 2013-2016. Afterward, Diebler would coach under Drew again at Vanderbilt, joining as an assistant from 2016 to 2019.
In the spring of 2019, Diebler was hired back on to the Buckeye staff as an assistant coach and earned a promotion to associate head coach before the 2022-23 season. After former head coach Chris Holtmann was fired on February 14, 2024, Diebler would be promoted to interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
The Buckeyes finished 5-1 to end the regular season, highlighted by an upset victory over No. 2 Purdue in Diebler’s first game coached. Diebler led OSU to a postseason appearance in the NIT and earned two wins before losing in the quarterfinals.
Ohio State’s results and roster:
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/4/2024 | vs. No. 19 Texas (Hall of Fame Series) | Las Vegas, Nev. | W 80-72 |
| 11/11/2024 | Youngstown State | Columbus, Ohio | W 81-47 |
| 11/15/2024 | at No. 23 Texas A&M | College Station, Texas | L 64-78 |
| 11/19/2024 | Evansville | Columbus, Ohio | W 80-30 |
| 11/22/2024 | Campbell | Columbus, Ohio | W 104-60 |
| 11/25/2024 | Green Bay | Columbus, Ohio | W 102-69 |
| 11/29/2024 | Pitt | Columbus, Ohio | L 90-91 |
| 12/4/2024 | at Maryland | College Park, Md. | L 59-83 |
| 12/7/2024 | Rutgers | Columbus, Ohio | W 80-66 |
| 12/14/2024 | at No. 2 Auburn | Atlanta, Ga. | L 53-91 |
| 12/17/2024 | Valparaiso | Columbus, Ohio | W 95-73 |
| 12/21/2024 | vs. No. 4 Kentucky (CBS Sports Classic) | New York, N.Y. | W 85-65 |
| 12/29/2024 | Indiana State | Columbus, Ohio | W 103-83 |
| 1/3/2025 | No. 18 Michigan State | Columbus, Ohio | L 62-69 |
| 1/6/2025 | at Minnesota | Minneapolis, Minn. | W 89-88 2OT |
| 1/9/2025 | No. 15 Oregon | Columbus, Ohio | L 71-73 |
| 1/14/2025 | at No. 24 Wisconsin | Madison, Wis. | L 68-70 |
Ohio State’s game notes (via Ohio State Athletics)
17+ POINTS PER GAME
- Bruce Thornton is averaging 17.4 points per game this season. If he were to finish the season at that mark, it would be a career best.
- Over the last 12 seasons, there have only been three Buckeyes to average 17 points or more per game.
- E.J. Liddell averaged 19.4 points per game in his unanimous All-American season in 2021-22. Keita Bates-Diop averaged 19.8 ppg during his Big Ten Player of the Year season in 2017-18. D’Angelo Russell scored 19.3 points per game in 2014-15 when he was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was a unanimous first team All-American.
30 POINTS IN BACK TO BACK GAMES
- Bruce Thornton scored a career-high 30 or more points in back-to-back games vs. Kentucky and Indiana State on Dec. 21 and Dec. 29.
- His 30 points against the No. 4 Wildcats came in an 85-65 victory inside Madison Square Garden. He was 13-of-14 from the free throw line in that game.
- He then was 11-of-16 from the floor, including 4-of7 from long range, to finish was a career-high 33 points against Valparaiso.
STEWART MAKING THE MOST OF HIS MINUTES
- Sean Stewart has played well in the last five games. The Orlando, Fla., native has averaged 6.4 rebounds in those game and has shot over 65 percent from the floor.
- Against No. 15 Oregon, he was a career-best 6-of-8 from the free throw line and finished with season-highs of 14 points and nine rebounds. Stewart has led the team in rebounding six times this season, including in four of the last five games.
SHOOTING 50 PERCENT OR BETTER
- Ohio State has shot 50 percent of better in a game nine times this season. The Buckeyes shot 50 percent of better just eight times all of last season. And four of those eight times came after head coach Jake Diebler became the interim coach.
- The Buckeyes are shooting 48.2 percent overall on the year, which is seventh in the Big Ten and 42nd nationally.
MOBLEY SHOOTING IT WELL
- Freshman John Mobley Jr. is 37-of-86 from long range this season. He is seventh in the Big Ten with 37 threes and ninth at 2.18 three-pointers per game.
- He has made at least one three-pointer in every game and three or more in seven games. His 16 three-pointers through the first five games this season were the most by any freshman in program history
Ohio State’s KenPom notable numbers:
(out of 364 teams)
Tempo – No. 170 (Offense No. 193 / Defense No. 89)
Offensive Efficiency – No. 44
- The Buckeyes’ effective field goal percentage is 55% on the season, No. 43 nationally. They’re shooting 37.1% as a team on 3-pointers (No. 42) and 54.6% on 2s (No. 83).
- Despite their effective shooting, OSU does not shoot a high volume of threes (No. 244).
- Ohio State leads the country in steals given up percentage on offense, with a 5.9% rate. Their overall turnover percentage is at 15.8% (No. 71).
- They’re not a high-volume offensive rebounding team with a 28.6 percent rate (No. 229).
Defensive Efficiency – No. 29
- Opponents have a 45.3% effective field goal percentage so far (No. 19). Teams are shooting 28.9% on 3-pointers (No. 17) and 46.5% on 2s (No. 47).
- The numbers suggest OSU fouls a lot. Opponent free throw attempts are 39.7% of field goal attempts (No. 307), and free throws account for 25 percent of opponents’ points (No. 7).
- Most other categories, including offensive rebounding percentage (29.6%, No. 165) and turnover percentage (17.5%, No.185) are around the average of Division 1.
OG’s Pick
Win/Loss Record: 13-3
Was anyone else’s prediction from the last game close? You may have to take my spot. No matter. New day, a new game.
Ohio State has an impressive non-conference resume with wins against Kentucky and Texas. They’ve also battled closely with some of Big Ten’s best in Oregon, Wisconsin, and Michigan State. Bruce Thornton is also making a strong case for an all-Big Ten selection, and could, at the very least, have his name mentioned in Big Ten POTY conversations.
In short, this is another tough roster for Indiana to match up against, but it’s beatable. A reminder, the Hoosiers are slated to lose their next seven, according to KenPom, but their next two, Ohio State and Northwestern, are ones they can easily flip the script on.
I think this one’s going to be a lot closer than what others think. OSU has some games where they haven’t shot well, and teams have capitalized. If the Hoosiers can start well defensively and get either Ballo or Rice producing offensively, they could steal one.
Let’s have some fun, shall we?
PICK: Indiana 67 – Ohio State 65
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