The final game of the 2017-18 regular season for Ohio State comes Friday night in Bloomington, Ind., where the Buckeyes will go for the two-game regular-season sweep of Indiana.
| Who | Where | When | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana (16-13, 9-8) | Assembly Hall | 8 p.m. | FS1 |
The Hoosiers had won their previous four games before falling 66-57 on the road to Nebraska on Tuesday, a game that would have given them their 10th conference win.
Archie Miller's squad will get its final chance at reaching the double-digit conference win mark against the Buckeyes, who defeated the Hoosiers 71-56 on Jan. 30, in a game in which Ohio State led for all but 64 seconds.
Chris Holtmann is well aware of what the Hoosiers are capable of, however, and said his team will have to come ready to play in a hostile environment which will also serve as the setting for Indiana's Senior Day.
"(This is an) Indiana team that is very good and playing very well and is especially really good at home," Holtmann said Thursday. "They have a terrific home environment, as all of us who follow college basketball know. They've got a couple guys playing really, really well. We will need to be ready to go."
Opponent Breakdown
Up until their loss to Nebraska on Tuesday, the Hoosiers were playing arguably their best basketball of the season in early to mid-February. Indiana rattled off four straight wins against Rutgers, Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa, with all but one of those victories coming by double digits.
In Indiana's last victory, an 84-82 win over Iowa, guard Robert Johnson exploded for 29 points, while connecting on 9-of-12 shots from behind the three-point arc. Johnson's ability to fill it up from long range is no secret to those wearing the scarlet and gray, as the Richmond, Va. native dropped 26 points in a 96-92 win over Ohio State in last year's regular season finale, connecting on 5-of-8 shots from distance.
| Player | Pos | HT | WT | Min | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JUWAN MORGAN | F | 6-8 | 230 | 29.2 | 16.5 | 7.3 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.4 |
| ROBERT JOHNSON | G | 6-3 | 195 | 33.9 | 14.0 | 4.6 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 0.2 |
| JOSH NEWKIRK | G | 6-1 | 195 | 23.2 | 7.1 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
| JUSTIN SMITH | F | 6-7 | 220 | 14.2 | 6.2 | 3.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| ZACH MCROBERTS | G | 6-6 | 205 | 20.8 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.2 |
In the first installment between Ohio State and Indiana this year, however, the Buckeyes limited Johnson and Josh Newkirk – who scored 18 points against OSU in 2017 – to just two points combined, as Newkirk was held scoreless.
Holtmann said Thursday that Ohio State's success against the Indiana backcourt in the first meeting was likely due to partial fatigue on the side of the Hoosiers, who had played rival Purdue to a close contest just two days before taking on the Buckeyes.
"They did miss some shots that you expect them to make at home a little bit more. I would have felt a little bit better if we would have done that there," Holtmann said. "I thought we did a better job defending them (this year). That was a quick turnaround for them after an emotional game. We expect those guys to make more shots.
"What we did do well is we had pretty good awareness of them. Johnson in particular. He can really get it going," Holtmann continued. "I have coached against him a couple of times and I have always been impressed with him as a player."
Where Johnson and Newkirk struggled against the Buckeyes earlier this season, Devonte Green stepped up. The sophomore guard dropped 20 on Ohio State in the first matchup of the year, connecting on 4-of-5 shots from behind the arc.
Underneath, the Hoosiers are paced by junior forward Juwan Morgan. Morgan scored 15 points and collected six boards in the Jan. 30 loss to Ohio State, but at just 6-foot-8, is Indiana's tallest rotation player. With big man De'Ron Davis out for the season with an injury, the Hoosiers were outrebounded 39-26 by the Buckeyes in the first meeting.
Buckeye Breakdown
As mentioned above, Ohio State dominated the paint in the first meeting between the two schools this season, winning the rebounding margin by 13 and outscoring Indiana in the paint, 40-26.
Keita Bates-Diop and Kaleb Wesson combined for 27 points and 18 rebounds, while Micah Potter added six points and seven boards off the bench. Ohio State's size inside gave the Buckeyes a clear advantage in the paint, an advantage OSU should have once again in Bloomington.
The Buckeyes also received solid guard play against the Hoosiers, as C.J. Jackson and Kam Williams combined for 19 points and seven boards in the victory, a performance Ohio State will likely need again in order to conclude the regular season with a victory.
After lackluster games against Penn State and Michigan, Ohio State's guards showed up in a big way against Rutgers, as Jackson and Williams combined for 31 points after scoring just seven against the Wolverines on Sunday.
That momentum is something Jackson hopes to carry into Assembly Hall on Friday night.
"We had been struggling a little bit the past couple of games, especially in the first half of the last game," Jackson said, referencing the opening 20 minutes of the Rutgers game in which he scored just two points. "I have to be a little more aggressive in my attack."
Defensively, Jackson said the Buckeyes will have to remain active in order to keep the Indiana guards from getting into an offensive rhythm at home.
"The biggest thing is just being active in our gaps, that is what the coaches preach all the time," Jackson said. "Disrupt their timing. We know they have dynamic guards. Last year, they had big games here and we don't want that to repeat so we will take the same approach (from our last game against them) tomorrow."
The game against the Hoosiers will also serve as a homecoming for Ohio State freshman Musa Jallow, who played his high school basketball at Bloomington High School North, less than a 10 minute drive from Assembly Hall.
Jallow, who reclassified to the 2017 class to play at Ohio State this season, said while it will be nice to play in his hometown, his focus is on sending the Buckeye veterans out with a win in their final regular season game.
"It is pretty cool to go back to my hometown to play, but that is not my main focus," Jallow said. "It is the last regular season game of the year and I just want to send my seniors out right."
How It Plays Out
The Buckeyes appeared to right the ship in a blowout win over Rutgers on Tuesday, but playing Indiana in Assembly Hall provides a much stiffer challenge for Holtmann's squad.
Ohio State has dropped its last three games in Bloomington, including a 25-point loss on Jan. 10, 2016, their last trip to Assembly Hall. The Buckeyes' last victory at Indiana came in the penultimate game of the 2012-13 season, in which Ohio State upset the No. 2-ranked Hoosiers, 67-58.
Indiana has the talent to win the game, but its lack of a dominant presence inside should play into Ohio State's advantage. If Bates-Diop is able to get clear looks close to the basket and Wesson is able to get going early offensively, the Buckeyes should come away with a close victory.
Prediction: Ohio State 73, Indiana 68
