Game Info / How to Watch

Who? Indiana Hoosiers (13-10 (4-8), #45 KenPom) vs Ohio State Buckeyes (15-7 (5-6), #34 KenPom)

When? Sunday, 2/10/19 1:00 P.M., Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall

Channel? CBS

Vegas? Over/Under 132.5, Indiana -2.5

KenPom? Indiana by 2, 68-66 , 57% chance of Hoosier Victory

WELP,

It appears as though the Hoosiers have returned to square one. After an incredibly impressive victory in East Lansing, IU returned home to what was setting itself to allow Indiana to build momentum and claw their way back into a solid spot in the NCAA Tournament.

But the Hawkeyes had other plans.

Jordan Bohannon and Joe Wieskamp went a combined 9-14 from three and was able to keep IU at arms length for the majority of the game and would allow for a 77-72 victory, putting IU at 13-10 (4-8) on the season.

It feels like we’re beating a dead horse at this point, but IU can still salvage the season — and by season I mean an NCAA berth. One of the things that certainly helps is that IU holds three wins against what would be the top 16 teams in the field at the moment ( at #8 Michigan State, vs #12 Marquette, vs #15 Louisville) along with opportunities to nab even more of those vs Michigan State, vs #16 Wisconsin, vs #9 Purdue. On top of all that, IU will also have a shot of redemption on the road against Iowa next week.

Will this be easy? No. Is it possible though? Absolutely.

And it won’t be easy going up against an Ohio State team that is in an almost identical spot as Indiana.

The Opponent

There hasn’t been too much noise out of Columbus compared to last. After exceeding expectations last season in Chris Holtmann’s debut year and being only one of four B1G teams to reach the big dance last year, the Buckeyes have appeared to regressed to the mean.

The Buckeyes are coming off back to back wins against Rutger(s) and Penn St. and had to take the whole 40 minutes to stave off the bottom dwelling Nittany Lions. But can they stretch it to three games when they hit the road for the first time in nearly two weeks? Let’s look at the four factors.

Four Factors

Don’t be surprised to see this game get sloppy real quick on Sunday afternoon. While the Hoosiers have been rough in conference play (17.9 TO%, 10th in B1G), OSU has been straight up careless with a 20.9 TO% in conference play, the worst in the B1G.

Another stat of note is how well can Indiana shut down Ohio State’s three point game. OSU ranks second in conference play for their percentage of total points coming from three.

As far as individuals go, OSU gets the majority of their production through Sophomore Kaleb Wesson. Wesson has produced the best individual numbers from the Buckeyes this season with going 55.6% from 2, 41.3% from 3, and then ranking in the top ten nationally for FD/40.

But what else is there? Well, here are three things to watch for.

Three Things to watch for

• Wesson vs Morgan- Two undersized Centers who are the primary offensive producers? Buddy you got it. This will be the main one-on-one matchup that fans should watch out for, with the main focus on if Juwan Morgan has the ability to stay out of foul trouble against a player who is nationally recognized for the number of fouls he draws.
• Green Green gotta gooo Green- With the amount of turnovers that Ohio State has and the scrapiness that Devonte Green is able to play with, I could certainly see Green having this game be his breakout match of the year.
• Appreciate the Culture- This Afternoon IU will be sporting alternates along with other Adidas schools that recognize the Harlem Renaissance in honor of February being Black History Month. Say what you will about the design of the jerseys themselves, it’s incredibly cool to see IU be part of a time in history where IU hasn’t always been the most forward thinking. Heck, Bill Garrett broke the color barrier in a venue named after a racist.