Another opportunity wasted.
Indiana’s 5-0 lead to open the game would be its largest. Ohio State immediately responded with a 16-3 run, and they were off to the races. IU hung around for a bit, but a 22-8 Buckeye run to close the first half put this game away. The Hoosiers would trail by as much as 24 in the second half before dressing up the final score a bit.
Let’s take a deeper look at how Indiana lost 91-78 in Columbus with our latest edition of The Report Card.
The Hoosiers (18-13, 9-11) will face Northwestern or Penn State in their Big Ten Tournament opener Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET at United Center in Chicago.
—————————————-
OFFENSE (B)
There were two glaring issues with Indiana’s offense. First, Ohio State was intent on running the Hoosiers off the 3-point arc, and it worked. IU took a season low 18 attempts from three. And they made just five shots from long range, tying their second-lowest output on the year.
And OSU started switching screens and denying passing lanes and that had IU on its heels for a stretch in the first half. And it led to a run of turnovers. IU gave it away eight times in the first 20 minutes, which led to 12 OSU points off turnovers — fuel to the fire that was an already red hot Buckeye offense.
Unable to shoot threes, Indiana went with a new wrinkle in the second half, playing Sam Alexis and Reed Bailey together for extended minutes. And they combined for 17 points on 6 of 6 shooting after the break.
“We thought there was an opportunity there with their size and things that we could with a little more size on the floor,” IU coach Darian DeVries said. “I thought Reed, his ability to drive the ball, we could still keep it spaced enough. So, I thought both those guys did a really good job of coming in, and even though they haven’t done a lot together, and gave us some really good minutes there.”
Fueled by that duo, IU made 23 of 33 (69.7%) from two-point range. They earned 21 free throws and made 17. And IU only turned it over four times after the break.
For the game the Hoosiers scored 1.15 points per possession — which can often be a good enough number to win, even on the road. It was their third-best effort by that measure on the road this season.
DEFENSE (F)
Indiana followed its best defensive effort of the season with one of its worst.
Ohio State got whatever shots it wanted and made them with alarming efficiency.
IU gave up its second-highest points per possession (1.34) and second-highest effective field goal percentage (70.4) of the season. Only the game at Purdue was worse in both departments. The Buckeyes made 72% of their twos, and 45.8% of their threes.
After a poor defensive start, Indiana looked like it had figured some things out for a brief stretch. IU held the Buckeyes scoreless for more than two minutes and were able to turn a 28-17 deficit to 28-25. But that’s when the dam broke, as OSU scored 22 points over the final 7:19 of the first half, fueled by four 3-pointers.
“I thought the biggest thing there was just the 3s,” DeVries said. “We weren’t able to get a stop there the end of that first half. So that was a huge stretch right in there. I thought we were back and forth a little bit, in decent shape. And then they got going, they got a couple drives to the rim, hit a few threes, and the lead exploded.”
If there was a bright side, Indiana did allow its second-lowest offensive rebounding rate (20%) of the season, and the lowest against a high major team. But since Ohio State only missed 20 shots for the entire game, perhaps the sample size was too small?
SEE ALSO:
- IU men’s basketball waited too long to show urgency in must-win game at Ohio State
- Watch: Darian DeVries and Reed Bailey discuss loss at Ohio State
- IU basketball: Ohio State 91 Indiana 78 — Three keys, highlights, final stats
THE PLAYERS (*starters)
*Tucker DeVries (C) This just hasn’t been the season shooting the basketball DeVries had hoped for. He’s made his lowest percentage from three of his career on his highest volume. And his 1 of 7 night was just the latest in a disappointing run of games. Don’t overlook his five assists, or three steals.
*Lamar Wilkerson (C) It wasn’t Wilkerson’s most efficient night scoring the ball but he certainly had his moments on the offensive end. His foul on an OSU made three killed any chance of a late rally. He took a bad angle there. Wilkerson also had three turnovers.
*Sam Alexis (B-) Alexis was his normally efficient self, with a perfect 5 of 5 day from the field. Foul trouble limited his minutes, and he had a couple turnovers. There weren’t a lot of defensive rebounds to be had, but you’d like to see more than one.
*Conor Enright (C) Enright was mired in a thankless defensive matchup trying to contend with Bruce Thornton. He brought plenty of positives but this was an unfavorable matchup.
*Nick Dorn (D) Dorn had turnover troubles, didn’t have a rebound, and was late closing out on shooters more than once. He lost minutes in the second half as Reed Bailey was a better option to drive the ball.
Tayton Conerway (D) It feels pretty safe to say Conerway is in the doghouse, as the former starter has played eight or fewer minutes in three straight games. He can be productive, but seems to be playing without an edge.
Jasai Miles (D) It’s clear the staff likes Miles’ on ball defense. He moves well laterally. But Miles isn’t providing much on the offensive end, and he had no rebounds, two fouls and a turnover.
Reed Bailey (B-) Other than having a couple of his shots blocked, this was a solid performance by Bailey. You can tell he knows his shortcomings (playing with physicality, rebounding, finishing at the rim) and he’s trying to address them. It was a good effort, but he’s running out of time.
————————
Trent Sisley, Aleksa Ristic, and Andrej Acimovic did not play — coaches decision.
Jason Drake and Josh Harris were out with injuries.
For complete coverage of IU basketball, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- You can follow us on X: @daily_hoosier and find us on Facebook and Instagram
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
