Two days is all the time Ohio State gets to regroup from its first home loss of the season, and the team it has to prepare for in short order already has a double-digit win over the Buckeyes.
Indiana appeared to be a class above Ohio State in their first meeting on Jan. 6, a 67-51 win for the Hoosiers, but Mike Woodson and company haven’t looked like world-beaters as of late. Indiana has dropped four games in a row, losing to Illinois, Northwestern, Michigan State and Wisconsin as it has fallen all the way to ninth place in the conference standings.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana (16-9, 7-8 B1G) | Schottenstein Center | 7 p.m. | FS1 |
The Buckeyes will be the fourth ranked opponent Indiana has faced off against in its past five games, but Ohio State is coming off a loss of its own after a 13-point defeat to Iowa at the Schottenstein Center on Saturday.
“We gotta get better at these areas that we struggled in. Indiana’s a terrific team and gonna present a lot of challenges,” Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said after Saturday’s loss. “But right now, as much as anything, we gotta find a way to coach and play better leading into really another big test for us. That will be addressed first.”
Sitting in fourth place in the Big Ten standings, Ohio State seeks its 10th conference win of the season in a game that could soften the blow of the Buckeyes’ last loss and serve as revenge for a previous defeat if they can get the victory on Monday night.
What to Watch For
Offensive struggles for Indiana
Indiana has been far from an offensive juggernaut in its past four contests. In four straight losses, the Hoosiers have averaged just 59.5 points per game, shooting just 36.9 percent from the floor and 25 percent from 3-point range. The Hoosiers have gone up against stiff competition with Illinois, Michigan State and Wisconsin being three of those four losses, but that doesn’t change the fact that Indiana will enter Columbus having played some of its worst offense of the season as of late.
Can other Buckeyes step up?
It’s been an issue that’s plagued the Buckeyes more or less throughout the entire season, but Holtmann made no bones on Saturday about the fact that other players besides E.J. Liddell must contribute more for Ohio State on offense. Jamari Wheeler, Eugene Brown, Justin Ahrens and Meechie Johnson – who have all started multiple games for Ohio State at one point or another – combined to score just five points against the Hawkeyes. That simply won’t be enough for the Buckeyes to consistently knock off strong Big Ten competition down the stretch, and it will be a key storyline to watch on Monday.
"We need more offensive firepower from guys other than E.J."
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) February 19, 2022
Will Indiana control the paint again?
Indiana’s success against Ohio State in the Jan. 6 matchup was predicated on its ability to govern the paint. The Hoosiers outscored the Buckeyes 38-10 in the paint and outrebounded the scarlet and gray by eight in the first matchup. Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson combined for 38 points themselves, and Indiana had to make only two 3-pointers to win the game by 16. Ohio State will have to close those gaps to get a better result against the Hoosiers in the rematch.
Three Important Buckeyes
E.J. Liddell
Liddell had one of his worst nights of the season last time out against Indiana, scoring just 11 points on 3-for-12 shooting. Ohio State’s star forward will hope to rectify that performance with a better effort in the second go-round, while he’ll also be looking to quickly bounce back from a ho-hum game against Iowa that saw him shoot his lowest percentage of the season at home (46.2).
Zed Key
Liddell was not the only Buckeye that struggled against Indiana the first time around, and Zed Key’s performance may have been even more forgettable. The sophomore attempted just two shots, hit neither of them and finished with just two points as Jackson-Davis dominated on the other side. Key will have to be better defensively in the second meeting, and his six-point effort on Saturday was one to improve upon as well.
Jamari Wheeler
Things typically go well for the Buckeyes when their starting point guard has a standout performance. Wheeler didn’t have one of those in Ohio State’s loss to Iowa, shooting just 1-for-6 to finish with three points on the night. Four days prior, Wheeler’s 13-point outburst was vital to a second-half comeback that led Ohio State to a dominant win over Minnesota. Wheeler isn’t the only player Ohio State needs more from on offense, but his contributions would certainly help the cause.
Three Important Hoosiers
Update: Trey Galloway, who had started the past three games for the Hoosiers, was ruled unavailable with a lower body injury before the game.
From IU:
— Inside the Hall (@insidethehall) February 21, 2022
In addition to Sr./Jr. guard Rob Phinisee being out with an injury, So./Fr. Trey Galloway (lower body injury) and So./Fr. Khristian Lander (reaggravation of sore leg) will be unavailable tonight against Ohio State.
| Player | Position | Height | Weight | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAVIER JOHNSON | G | 6-3 | 200 | 10.3 PPG, 4.4 APG |
| TREY GALLOWAY | G | 6-4 | 210 | 6.1 PPG, 1.8 RPG |
| MILLER KOPP | F | 6-7 | 220 | 5.8 PPG, 7.4 RPG |
| RACE THOMPSON | F | 6-8 | 235 | 11.7 PPG, 7.8 RPG |
| TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS | F | 6-9 | 245 | 18 PPG, 8.3 RPG |
Trayce Jackson-Davis
Suffice to say Indiana’s top player was hell on wheels for the Ohio State defense on Jan. 6. Jackson-Davis scored 27 points, his fourth-most of the season, and shot 11-for-17 while Indiana largely manhandled the Buckeyes in the paint.
Before the Hoosiers’ matchup with Wisconsin last week, Jackson-Davis had been on a bit of a cold streak by his standards, averaging just 14.2 points on 44.1 percent shooting in Indiana’s six previous games. But Jackson-Davis bounced back to drop 30 against the Badgers, hitting 10 of his 13 shots in a losing effort. Now 25 games into the season, Jackson-Davis is averaging 18 points and 8.3 rebounds per game for the Hoosiers, and he’ll be the main point of emphasis for the Ohio State defense on Monday.
Race Thompson
As if Jackson-Davis wasn’t enough, senior forward Race Thompson gave Ohio State some troubles as well in the last matchup, and he’s been even more prolific on offense as of late. Averaging 11.7 points per game this season as Indiana’s second-leading scorer, Thompson is putting up 14.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in his last six games and knocking down 53 percent of his shots in that stretch. The 6-foot-8 forward has scored at least 13 points in each of his past six appearances and will give the Buckeyes something to think about down low besides Jackson-Davis.
Xavier Johnson
The fourth-year Pitt transfer is Indiana’s third-leading scorer with an average of 10.7 points per game this season, but his play has suffered significantly during the Hoosiers’ four-game skid. Johnson has averaged only 8.4 points per game during that stretch, but even more notable is his field-goal percentage, which has been at 26.2 percent in those four straight losses. The 6-foot-3 guard is capable of big scoring performances, but he’s only hit double digits in one game this month.
How It Plays Out
Line: Ohio State -7, O/U 134.5
Ohio State had its worst home performance of the season against Iowa, and even though Indiana held the Buckeyes to just 62 points in Bloomington, the scarlet and gray should have a stronger showing on that side of the ball on their home floor. Whether or not Ohio State can defend Jackson-Davis better than it did the first time may be a more pressing question, but Indiana’s recent slump suggests the Buckeyes may be catching the Hoosiers at the right time.
Prediction: Ohio State 69, Indiana 65
