Indiana played reasonably well on the offensive end, but the Hoosier defense allowed Ohio State to shoot 60 percent from the field, 68 percent from three point range, and to shoot 38 free throws, and the Buckeyes cruised to an easy win in Bloomington. IU played a reasonably good game offensively, shooting 50 percent from the field and making 9 three pointers, but the Buckeyes were dramatically better. As expected, IU had no answer for the OSU shooters. William Buford made 5-7 three pointers, Jon Diebler was 5-5, and David Lighty was 2-4. Jared Sullinger scored 19 points on 5-6 from the field and 9-12 from the line. Derek Elston, Bobby Capobianco, and Tom Pritchard combined to commit 12 fouls in 25 minutes of play.
This game is about what we expected, and nothing about the game did anything to dissuade me from the idea that the Buckeyes are the best team in the country. As noted, IU's offensive performance was reasonably good. Also, IU broke even on turnovers (each team has 14). Still, the defense was bad, bad, bad, although I don't think there was anything IU could have done to contain OSU's personnel.
Individual performances:
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Christian Watford broke out of his offensive funk, scoring 17 points on 5-10 from the field. Still, 3 turnovers.
- Victor Oladipo has emerged as one of IU's most reliable players. He scored 14 points on 6-10 shooting and led the team with 6 rebounds.
- Verdell Jones had nine points and four assists, but four turnovers.
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Jordan Hulls scored 12 points and had 3 assists to one turnover.
Well, IU heads to the Barn on Tueaday night to play Minnesota. The Gophers are off to an 0-2 start in the Big Ten after road losses to Wisconsin and Michigan State. The Gophers provide some matchup problems for IU, but who doesn't? More on that game later.