Ohio State suffered its first defeat in six weeks on Thursday, and Trayce Jackson-Davis was chiefly responsible.
Indiana’s star forward scored 27 points as the Hoosiers snapped the 13th-ranked Buckeyes’ five-game win streak with a 67-51 victory at Assembly Hall, handing Ohio State its first loss since Nov. 24. Mike Woodson and company improved to 10-0 on their home floor with the win.
Thursday night's contest was just the second game back for Ohio State since going on a 22-day COVID-19 pause through the end of December, and the Buckeyes looked flat late. Indiana finished on a 15-3 run in the final 6:17 as Ohio State turned the ball over five times in the final 6:47.
A one-possession game at halftime and for much of the second period, Indiana began to pull away in the final eight minutes as the Buckeyes had no answer for Jackson-Davis on the interior. The third-year big man shot 11-for-17 on the night and tallied a double-double as he punished Ohio State inside early and often.
| Team | 1 | 2 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| #13 OHIO STATE | 30 | 21 | 51 |
| INDIANA | 33 | 34 | 67 |
Indiana eventually built up a significant double-digit lead late as the Hoosiers thrashed Ohio State in the paint, and the Hoosiers only had to hit two 3-pointers all game to come up with the win at home. Indiana outscored Ohio State 38-10 in the paint by the time the final buzzer sounded.
Ohio State had its worst collective shooting performances of the season (30.8 percent from the field), and couldn’t get much in the way of offense from anyone outside of E.J. Liddell and Malaki Branham – who each struggled from the floor for much of the night as well.
Branham led the way for the Buckeyes with 13 points, and Liddell was the only other Ohio State player to score in double figures, with 11 on 3-for-12 shooting.
Ohio State started off hot, hitting seven of its first 12 shots while the Hoosiers made just three of their first 13. Branham scored six of the first eight points for the Buckeyes, while former Indiana center Joey Brunk scored a quick four points thereafter as part of a 7-0 Ohio State run. That stretch gave the Buckeyes a 15-7 lead with 12:08 to play, but the Hoosiers answered right back with a run of their own.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | INDIANA |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | POINTS | 67 |
| 16-52 (30.8%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 25-61 (41%) |
| 8-27 (29.6%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 2-15 (13.3%) |
| 11-12 (91.7%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 15-18 (83.3%) |
| 15 | TURNOVERS | 9 |
| 33 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 41 |
| 5 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 11 |
| 28 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 30 |
| 16 | BENCH POINTS | 18 |
| 3 | BLOCKS | 6 |
| 7 | STEALS | 7 |
| 12 | ASSISTS | 14 |
Indiana scored 11 of the next 12 points in the game to take an 18-16 lead after a Jackson-Davis dunk at the 8:35 mark, and the 6-foot-9 forward wasn’t done there. Jackson-Davis poured in 16 points in the first half alone, and after Justin Ahrens took the lead back for Ohio State with his first 3-pointer of the game, Jackson-Davis’ fourth dunk of the half put the Hoosiers back on top, 29-28, in the final 95 seconds of the opening period.
The Hoosiers closed the half on a 4-0 run to head to the locker room up 33-30, and Jackson-Davis’ 6-for-8 start for the floor helped Indiana outscore Ohio State 20-10 in the paint.
The Buckeyes shot just 34.5 percent from the floor and 23.1 percent from 3-point range in the first half, and Ohio State missed eight of its final nine shots in the period. Branham missed his last six shots after hitting his first three, and Liddell scored just six points on 2-for-6 shooting.
Despite retaking the lead early in the second half with a quick pair of threes from Liddell and Branham, the Buckeyes lost it again shortly thereafter as their shooting woes continued through the middle of the final frame. But Indiana struggled to find a shooting rhythm of its own, and couldn’t pull away by more than a possession at the halfway point of the second half.
Just before the under eight-minute timeout, though, a transition and-one layup from Jackson-Davis gave the Hoosiers a 51-45 lead – their largest of the game at the time. By the 4:09 mark, Indiana had gone on a 13-3 run to open up an 11-point lead on the Buckeyes as the game neared its end.
That lead ballooned up to as many as 18 in the final two minutes as the Hoosiers ran away with things, and Ohio State shot just 26.1 percent in the second half.
What's next: Ohio State will play its first home game since Dec. 11 on Sunday, when Northwestern comes to Columbus for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off at the Schottenstein Center.
Other Notes
- Ohio State center Joey Brunk started 31 games for the Hoosiers during the 2019-20 season before missing last year with injury and transferring to the Ohio State program thereafter.
- Buckeye forwards Justice Sueing (abdomen) and Seth Towns (back) were both unavailable for Ohio State.
- Both Ohio State’s E.J. Liddell (coaches) and Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis (media) were first-team All-Big Ten selections at forward in 2020-21. The pair combined for 42 points in their most recent contest prior to Thursday, a 19-point Buckeye victory on Feb. 13, 2021.
- Ohio State has played Indiana more times than any other opponent since the 1949-50 season (133 in total entering Thursday).
- Entering the game, the Buckeyes had won six of their last seven against the Hoosiers dating back to January 2018.
