It might not have looked pretty, but the Buckeyes got back on track on Sunday.
Following a 22-day COVID-19 layoff, Ohio State improved to 9-2 on the season and 3-0 in conference play with an 87-79 overtime win over Nebraska on the road. The Buckeyes were led by a 35-point explosion from freshman guard Malaki Branham.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana (10-3, 1-2 B1G) | Assembly Hall | 7 p.m. | FS1 |
The 13th-ranked Buckeyes will stay on the road for their next matchup, traveling to Bloomington to take on a 10-3 Hoosier team that is coming off a 61-58 loss to Penn State on an underwhelming night offensively. Indiana is just 1-2 to start off its conference slate, but with Trayce Jackson-Davis leading the way in Mike Woodson's first year at the helm of the program, the Hoosiers are not to be taken lightly, especially on their home court.
All three of Indiana's losses have come away from Assembly Hall this season. Syracuse handed the Hoosiers a defeat in double overtime at the Carrier Dome, Wisconsin beat Indiana in Madison and the Nittany Lions edged out the aforementioned win at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Indiana boasts wins over three major conference opponents so far this year, with wins over St. John's, Nebraska and Notre Dame highlighting the early going for the Hoosiers.
Ohio State has played Indiana more times than any other opponent since the 1949-50 season (133 in total), and the Buckeyes have won six of their last seven against the Hoosiers dating back to January 2018.
Three Things To Watch For
Battle of potential All-Americans
First and foremost, the spotlight will be on one matchup in particular between the Buckeyes and Hoosiers. E.J. Liddell and Trayce Jackson-Davis, two first-team All-Big Ten forwards as sophomores a season ago, have gotten off to even more impressive starts to their junior campaigns. With both averaging a hair under 20 points per game – ranking fourth (Liddell, 19.6) and fifth (Jackson-Davis, 19.3) in the conference in scoring – and seven or more rebounds this year, their names are in early conversations for All-American teams, and how each performs against one another could make a statement on Thursday.
Kyle Young’s health
Ohio State’s veteran power forward, averaging 10 points per game as the Buckeyes’ third-leading scorer off the bench this season, missed the Nebraska game due to a non-COVID related illness but could return to the fold against Indiana.
"Kyle's feeling better," Holtmann said Wednesday. "We'll evaluate him after practice today here and make a determination at that point."
Given the size of Hoosier forwards Jackson-Davis (6-9, 245) and Race Thompson (6-8, 235), Young’s presence will be important defensively and could also give Ohio State a major boost on offense. Young ranks third on the Buckeyes with 10 points per game this season.
Hoosiers among top B1G defenses
Indiana ranks among the best teams in the conference in a number of defensive statistics. The Hoosiers are giving up the fewest points per game in the Big Ten (61.6), and its average opponent field-goal percentage (35.4) is also the lowest in the league. Indiana is second in the conference in blocked shots per game (5.69), with Jackson-Davis making up over half of that production, and KenPom ranks the Hoosiers’ adjusted defensive efficiency as 14th-best in the nation.
"I think the thing that I've been really impressed with them is this is the best defense we've played against," Holtmann said. "And when you look at their numbers right now, the numbers back that up."
Three Important Buckeyes
Malaki Branham
The true freshman had a performance no one quite saw coming on Sunday, and it may be a difficult one to follow up. Branham’s 35 points were the most by any Buckeye in a Big Ten game since 2018, and that total more than tripled his previous best scoring output this season. Branham certainly won’t be expected to put up those kind of numbers on Thursday, but watch for an uptick in confidence and aggressiveness from the first-year wing after he showcased just how high his ceiling is in Ohio State’s most recent game.
Jamari Wheeler
Overshadowed by Branham’s own monster night, Wheeler had his best offensive performance as a Buckeye against Nebraska, going off for a team-second-best 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting. The former Penn State point guard knocked down four of his five 3-point attempts en route to nearly doubling his previous season-high scoring effort. Any scoring contributions from Wheeler are only a plus for the group, and he’ll be an asset defensively against veteran guard Xavier Johnson on the other end.
E.J. Liddell
Apparently it is possible for Liddell to have an off night after all. The 6-foot-7 Buckeye forward shot a dreadful 2-for-14 from the floor against Nebraska, finishing with a season-low 10 points for the night. Liddell was likely impacted by the Buckeyes’ long COVID-19 layoff, but they’ll need his best on Thursday.
Three Important Hoosiers
| Player | Position | Height | Weight | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAVIER JOHNSON | G | 6-3 | 200 | 10 PPG, 4.2 APG |
| PARKER STEWART | G | 6-5 | 202 | 7.3 PPG, 2.3 RPG |
| MILLER KOPP | F | 6-7 | 220 | 7.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG |
| RACE THOMPSON | F | 6-8 | 235 | 10.8 PPG, 8 RPG |
| TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS | F | 6-9 | 245 | 19.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG |
Trayce Jackson-Davis
Averaging nearly twice as many points as any other Hoosier (19.3 points per game), Jackson-Davis is Indiana’s leading scorer and rebounder with an average of 8.2 boards a night. The 6-foot-9 big man is having the best shooting season of his career, connecting on just under 60 percent of his field goals, and his 3.1 blocks (No. 1 in the Big Ten) and 1.9 assists per game are career-high marks as well. Jackson-Davis already has a 43-point game under his belt this season, albeit against Marshall, and he’s logged 20 or more points on five occasions entering Thursday.
Race Thompson
The fourth-year Hoosier forward is having his best season across the board as a senior, averaging close to a double-double with career-high averages of 10.8 points and eight rebounds, both second on the team only to Jackson-Davis. Thompson is also putting up a pair of assists per game, and his season field-goal percentage (59.8) is nearly identical to Jackson-Davis.
"A lot's made of Trayce for good reason, he's a preseason All-American for good reason, but Race has developed into a really, really good player," Holtmann said. "We knew he was a good player coming out of high school and he's a really talented kid."
Xavier Johnson
In his first season with the Hoosiers after transferring from Pittsburgh, 6-foot-3 guard Xavier Johnson hasn’t had much trouble acclimating to Big Ten play. He leads Indiana with an average of 4.2 assists and is third on the team in scoring at 10 points per game. Even more impressive is that Johnson is doing that in just 24 minutes per game, which is the lowest average of his college career to date.
How It Plays Out
Line: Indiana -2, O/U 138.0
The Buckeyes have the far better résumé to this point, but still may be shaking off some rust from their COVID layoff if their performance against Nebraska – even in a win – is any indication. Ohio State also has a knack for finding its way into close games down the stretch, so don't be surprised to see yet another nail-biter featuring the Buckeyes. Still, Ohio State has the team to get the job done regardless, provided Liddell returns to form after Sunday's aberration.
Prediction: Ohio State 74, Indiana 68
