Ohio State head coach Thad Matta would like to think his team has turned the corner.
After again falling behind by double digits in the first half Thursday at Northwestern, the Buckeyes were finally able to rally back and get a win on the road in the Big Ten. As a team on the NCAA tournament bubble, it was a game they had to have.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana (15-4, 5-1) | Schottenstein Center | 1:30 p.m. | CBS |
“I hope that they did, I hope that there’s a sense of belief in terms of we got way down, we got up, they made a great comeback on us and made some incredible plays and we were able to finish it off," Matta said Saturday. "Hopefully there’s a sense of ‘Let’s continue this forward.’ That’s the biggest thing I want with these guys is let’s try to win a couple in a row and get the momentum going back on our side.”
Today, Ohio State has a shot to do exactly what Matta was talking about: try to build some momentum. The Buckeyes host No. 23 Indiana at the Schottenstein Center and have a chance to earn their first quality win of the season.
Opponent Breakdown
Quite simply, the Hoosiers are rolling.
After suffering a 20-point loss at Michigan State on Jan. 5, Indiana has won four-straight games. Included in that stretch was a 69-66 win over the Buckeyes at Assembly Hall on Jan. 10.
But perhaps the Hoosiers' most impressive win in that span was Thursday's 89-70 rout of 13th-ranked Maryland where they made 15 of 22 3-pointers as a team.
“That was one of those games where they were on," Matta said. "They had a phenomenal game, they were clicking on all cylinders.”
Led by Yogi Ferrell and James Blackmon, Indiana's backcourt is the key to its success. But the Hoosiers have also found some success with their small-ball starting lineup that doesn't feature a starter over 6 feet, 7 inches tall.
It's a slightly different group than the first time the two teams met. But Ohio State's starting lineup is slightly different, too.
“It’s a completely different game and we didn’t play particularly well," Matta said. "How much they had to do with that was probably quite a bit. We had opportunities, we had looks at the basket that we want that didn’t go down for us. Obviously we did not rebound the ball at the level we needed to on both ends of the floor. They’re playing better right now and I think we’re playing better right now.”
Buckeye Breakdown
“As a team we came together and just worked hard to get that win. We had to draw the line.”– Jae'Sean Tate
Matta didn't get what he wanted out of his new starting lineup when he added Jae'Sean Tate and Anthony Lee in for Marc Loving and Amir Williams. The Buckeyes still started extremely slowly, but were actually able to rally for once and win the game.
“As a team we came together and just worked hard to get that win," Tate said. "We had to draw the line.”
Thanks to D'Angelo Russell's career-high 33-point performance, Ohio State was able to avoid disaster and beat one of the Big Ten's worst teams.
As a result, the Buckeyes have chances to earn quality wins on their home floor their next two times out, today against the Hoosiers and Thursday against the Terrapins. If it can't get both, getting one is crucial if Ohio State wants to make the NCAA tournament.
“It’s huge. It’s so tough to win on the road in this conference, so tough to night in, night out with all those fans screaming at you and give you your best shot," senior forward Sam Thompson said. "Any time you have a chance to get two in a row at home we have to get it.”
How It'll Play Out
It's hard to imagine today's game going like the first time these two teams squared off.
In that game, the Buckeyes shot a dreadful 34 percent from the field and were just 3 for 21 from 3-point range. They were also outrebounded by nine. But Indiana is riding high on its four-game winning streak. The Hoosiers will do everything they can to duplicate the success they have had their last four times out.
It will have to be different for Ohio State to get one of those key wins it desperately needs.
"We found ourselves playing catch up and in the last few minutes of the game we gave ourselves an opportunity to tie it and take the lead a couple times late in the game but we never could get over that hump," Thompson said. "I think just from the jump they came out with more energy, more intensity and we have to change that (today).”
