Ohio State learned two days ago that it'll have to move on, at least for now, without DJ Carton.
The freshman guard announced on Thursday night that he's taking a temporary leave of absence to work on "mental health issues" that left him feeling less than 100 percent healthy.
Two days later, the Buckeyes will be back in action without Carton, who was back in Iowa on Friday watching his high school basketball team play. On Saturday, they'll get a chance to avenge their 66-54 road loss a few weeks ago at Indiana when they play host to the Hoosiers at the Schottenstein Center. The game will tip off at noon on ESPN.
"Archie (Miller) and his staff, I think they've got a really good team this year, and I think we saw that first-hand when we went to their place a few weeks ago," Holtmann said on Thursday. "We'll need to play well here on Saturday at noon."
This weekend's matchup marks the next step for the Buckeyes as they attempt to relocate their early season magic and put an end to an abysmal month of basketball.
Since beating Kentucky on Dec. 21, Ohio State has won two of eight games, and those victories came against Northwestern and Nebraska, the two teams projected to finish at the bottom of the Big Ten. Saturday's game represents an opportunities for the Buckeyes to pick up their most impressive win in five weeks.
Three Important Hoosiers
Joey Brunk (6-11, 245 pounds)
A seven-point, five-rebound, four-foul stat line in 27 minutes doesn't exactly scream, "Hey, I'm a star." But those numbers don't do Brunk justice for the impact he made in the first Ohio State-Indiana matchup. He made Kaleb Wesson work hard every trip down the court, playing a significant role in the big man going 3-of-11 from the floor. Wesson will get a second chance to go at Brunk on Saturday.
Devonte Green (6-3, 185 pounds)
Everybody has noticed the trend, including Holtmann.
"Green has always played well against us," Ohio State's head coach said.
Green had a team-high 19 points off the bench against the Buckeyes on Jan. 11, and he scored 26 points in the Big Ten tournament matchup between the two teams last March. He's a streaky shooter, scoring either fewer than five points or more than 15 points in each of the past eight games, so Ohio State needs to get him out of his rhythm early on Saturday.
Trayce Jackson-Davis (6-9, 245 pounds)
In the first meeting, Ohio State limited Jackson-Davis to six points and a season-low three rebounds in 28 minutes. Holding him to pedestrian numbers a second time seems fairly unlikely, but the Buckeyes will attempt to make it happen. Jackson-Davis leads the Hoosiers with 14 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 28.1 minutes per game.
Three Important Buckeyes
CJ Walker (6-1, 195 pounds)
For as long as Carton is away from the team, Walker will be be the only true point guard on the roster. It's all in the redshirt junior team captain's hands now. Walker, who averages 7.5 points and 3.1 assists per game, doesn't have the explosive athleticism or 0-to-60 speed of Carton, so he'll have to lead the team his own way.
Duane Washington Jr. (6-3, 190 pounds)
Without a second point guard on the roster, the Buckeyes will have to get a bit creative. Some of the ball-handling responsibility will shift to Washington, who played point guard for a short time alongside Carton in Sunday's win against Northwestern. He has the lowest turnover rate on the team among guards, though his shot selection hasn't been the prettiest and his defense hasn't always been consistent. Washington needs to step up to help mask Carton's departure.
Kyle Young (6-8, 205 pounds)
The Hoosiers didn't get the full Kyle Young experience on Jan. 11. That marked his first game back from the removal of his appendix, and it came only 13 days after the surgery. Holtmann mentioned afterward that he thought Young was rusty. While he still might not yet be 100 percent healthy, he had 14 points and six rebounds against Minnesota, showcasing some of the quintessential hustle plays he became known for earlier this season.
Three Numbers To Know
3-Point Shooting
Few teams shoot as poorly beyond the arc as the Hoosiers, so naturally few teams shoot such a low rate of 3-pointers.
Indiana has hit only 30.5 percent of its shots from behind the arc, the 297th-best mark in the nation. Of its shot attempts this season, only 29.5 percent have been 3-pointers, which is the country's 330th-highest rate.
Rebounding
Indiana both understand and tries to take advantage of its strength, which resides at forward with Jackson-Davis, Brunk and Justin Smith. The big-bodied frontline helps the Hoosiers have the nation's 26th-best offensive-rebounding rate (34.5 percent) and hold opponents to the 15th-lowest offensive-rebounding rate (23.1 percent).
"They're a terrific offensive rebounding team because of their size, and not just because of their size; they do a great job pursuing the ball," Holtmann said. "How big and physical they are was probably the thing going into it that we felt the most, and I think we felt that coming out of it."
Free-Throw Rate
What does a team do when it can't shoot from the outside? Try to get to the free-throw line as often as possible.
Indiana has the eighth-highest free-throw rate in the country of 42.4 percent. The problem? It hits only 68.2 percent of its free throws, the 245th-best mark.
Other Notes
- Justin Ahrens' role has continued to increase as his health has improved. Holtmann: "He's probably three weeks in to actually feeling close to 100 percent."
- Holtmann on the six-day layoff after Ohio State beat Northwestern on Sunday: "I probably would have liked to play right away again, to be honest with you. I think any time you feel like you're taking a little bit of a step forward in some areas, you'd like to carry that momentum and play as immediately as possible."
- This will be Ohio State's second home game against Indiana in the Holtmann era. The Buckeyes beat the Hoosiers, 71-56, on Jan. 30, 2018 at the Schottenstein Center two years ago.
How It Plays Out
Ohio State, which just had its third-leading scorer take a leave of absence, has won two of its past eight games, with the victories coming against a pair of teams in the conference basement – Northwestern and Nebraska – and enters Saturday as a 7.5-point favorite against a team it lost to by 12 points just three weeks ago? Welcome to the 2019-20 Big Ten.
We're not picking the cover, but we are going with the Buckeyes to win based on the idea that Kaleb Wesson will have a better offensive performance, the guards and wings will be able to knock down enough shots and Indiana won't hit 3-pointers quite as often.
Prediction: Ohio State 66, Indiana 61
