Coming off of its first loss of the season against a Big Ten opponent, Ohio State had little trouble getting back into the win column on Tuesday night.
The No. 17-ranked Buckeyes overpowered Indiana, dominating the visiting Hoosiers in an 71-56 victory at Value City Arena, to improve to 19-5 on the season and 10-1 in conference play.
In a game where Ohio State scored 40 of its 71 points in the paint, Jae'Sean Tate led the Buckeyes with 16 points, while Kaleb Wesson scored 14.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| INDIANA | 23 | 33 | 56 |
| #17 OHIO STATE | 38 | 33 | 71 |
After starting slow offensively in many of their recent games, Ohio State attacked strong out of the gates on Tuesday, going on an early 10-0 run to take a 14-5 lead into the game's first media timeout. The Buckeyes immediately went into the post the Hoosiers – who did not have a player taller than 6-8 in their starting lineup – scoring 12 of their first 14 points of the game in the paint.
Ohio State continued to control the game throughout the first half, ultimately taking a 38-23 lead into the break, with 22 of the Buckeyes' first-half points coming inside the paint.
The Hoosiers, who trailed by double digits for all of the final 31-plus minutes of the game, were unable to make up any ground in the second half.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | INDIANA |
|---|---|---|
| 71 | POINTS | 56 |
| 29-52 (55.8%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 20-55 (36.4%) |
| 5-17 (29.4%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 6-19 (31.6%) |
| 8-10 (80%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 10-18 (55.6%) |
| 14 | TURNOVERS | 8 |
| 39 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 26 |
| 9 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 10 |
| 30 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 16 |
| 9 | BENCH POINTS | 32 |
| 6 | BLOCKS | 0 |
| 5 | STEALS | 5 |
| 13 | ASSISTS | 11 |
Ohio State imposed its size advantage over the Hoosiers not only in scoring but also on the boards, out-rebounding Indiana 39 to 26, with Keita Bates-Diop – who scored 13 points – leading the Buckeyes with 13 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the year. Bates-Diop also tied a career high with five assists and recorded four blocks.
C.J. Jackson added 10 points for the Buckeyes while Kam Williams scored nine.
Wesson went 7-of-7 from the floor in Tuesday's game, giving him a streak of 11 consecutive made field goals dating back to the Buckeyes' previous game against Penn State.
Tate's 16 points and six rebounds brought him past the 1,400-point mark and 700-point mark for his Ohio State career.
For Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann, Tuesday marked an initial head-to-head victory over another first-year Big Ten coach, Archie Miller, a former Ohio State assistant who made his first return trip to Columbus on Tuesday night and was once regarded, before taking the Indiana job this past March, as the top choice to succeed Thad Matta as Holtmann ultimately did.
Miller and the Hoosiers will get their chance to turn the tables on Ohio State on Feb. 23, when the Buckeyes will play their final game of the regular season in Bloomington, Ind., but next up for the Buckeyes is another home game against Illinois – and another first-year Big Ten coach, Brad Underwood – on Sunday at noon.
