No. 10 Indiana Visits No. 8 Ohio State With Chance To Quell Ranked, Road Beatdowns
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — It’s February, and Indiana women’s basketball has another shot. A marquee road matchup is on deck for the No. 10 Hoosiers, which will visit No. 8 Ohio State on Sunday at Noon ET.
Three focal points headline the matchup. Can Indiana get over the hump and not get crushed on the road by a ranked team? Should the Hoosiers win, how favorable are the chances they repeat as Big Ten champs? And how do they match up against the Buckeyes?
The first point is unknown, but it's a momentous question. Indiana went to Stanford in the second game of the season and lost by 32 points. Once the Hoosiers strung together 13 consecutive wins, they crumbled at Iowa and lost by 27.
Since then, they’ve won their last four and won at Maryland Wednesday for the first time in program history. Maryland has had a subpar season, but Indiana staving off a comeback on the road has to build confidence.
Now, the attention is on Ohio State. The Buckeyes lost their second Big Ten game, but they have since won eight consecutive conference games, including a home victory over then-No. 2 Iowa. That win helped out Indiana, which got blown out in Iowa City.
Entering Sunday's game, Indiana, Ohio State and Iowa are tied for first place in the Big Ten with 9-1 conference records. It may be bold, but if Indiana beats Ohio State, it’s really Indiana’s regular-season title to lose. The Hoosiers host Iowa on Feb. 22, followed by just two more conference games.
Yes, the Hoosiers aren’t the top-ranked team in the Big Ten, but their scheduling is favorable. After Sunday, Indiana’s biggest competition is hosting Michigan State (16-5, 6-4) and Iowa. Their three road games are at Wisconsin, Illinois and Northwestern, each of which have losing records in Big Ten play.
Comparing that to Ohio State, the Buckeyes will go to Michigan State, Penn State and Iowa, all top-five teams in the Big Ten standings. The Hawkeyes, not as difficult, do have some toss ups, such as hosting Penn State and going on the road to Nebraska, currently in sixth place. Plus, Assembly Hall surely will be packed when Iowa comes to town.
Those hypothetical links of events — where Indiana beats Iowa at home, then the Hawkeyes beat Ohio State to level the standings — rely on Sunday going Indiana’s way first. The Hoosiers aren’t out of the race by any means if they lose, but a win would slingshot Indiana into commanding position. Any outcome can occur with eight games to go in the regular season, and Indiana’s hands will be full with Ohio State. Against three top-15 teams, Buckeye guard Jacy Sheldon averaged 27.3 points.
Indiana has shut down good guard play before, such as against now-No. 25 Princeton in Florida in November. Sophomore Lexus Bargesser has been starting in place of injured 6-foot-2 guard Sydney Parrish, and she's another agile on-ball defender alongside Chloe Moore-McNeil. They’ll likely be tasked with guarding Sheldon and Taylor Thierry, who averages 12.3 points. If Parrish remains out, Yarden Garzon could draw the matchup against former Big Ten Freshman of the Year Cotie McMahon in the post. McMahon has the ability to break out, dropping 33 points versus Iowa.
What the Hoosiers couldn’t do versus Stanford and Iowa — deny so many capable scorers simultaneously — is precisely what they’ll need to accomplish Sunday. It could also simply be decided on 3-point shooting. Ohio State is shooting 33.4%, whereas Indiana shoots 39.7%, the second best behind Penn State.
However, the Hoosiers went just 5-for-32 at Stanford and 5-for-20 at Iowa. The Hoosiers are certainly capable, though, having made 10-plus threes five different times. Stating the obvious – they’ll need to be on from three.
Last season, Indiana swept both regular season meetings against Ohio State, then lost by four points in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal despite leading by 24 at halftime. Ohio State went on to reach the Elite Eight, and the Hoosiers lost at home in the Round of 32.
Indiana had trouble with Maryland's half-court press, which helped the Terps win the third quarter, 29-16. Ohio State has used a full-court press this season, though Indiana has broken those with ease against lesser competition by seeking the open player at half court and scoring in transition.
With major Big Ten title race implications, Sunday’s matchup tips off at Noon ET and will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1.
Related Stories on Indiana Women's Basketball
- INDIANA-MARYLAND GAME STORY: Indiana began its two-game road trip Wednesday night at Maryland and won at College Park for the first time ever. CLICK HERE
- INDIANA-NORTHWESTERN GAME STORY: Indiana improved to 11-0 at home this season by easily beating Northwestern. Four non-starters reached their career-high in points. CLICK HERE
- PARRISH OUT INDEFINITELY WITH FOOT INJURY: Moren gave an update Friday on the status of starting guard Sydney Parrish, who did not play in the win last Sunday at Purdue. CLICK HERE
- MORE THAN 1 MILLION WATCH INDIANA-IOWA GAME: Indiana women's basketball's contest at No. 3 Iowa Saturday night on FOX was the network's third most-watched women's college basketball game in history. CLICK HERE
