Meet The Opponent: Indiana, Ohio State Meet Amid Recent Skids

The Hoosiers look to bounce back from back-to-back 25-point losses Friday at Ohio State.

Jack Ankony | Jan 16, 2025

Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton (2) and forward Devin Royal (21) against Indiana State at Value City Arena. / Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

In this story:

Indiana Hoosiers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Friday’s game between Indiana and Ohio State is a matchup between two teams hoping to get back on track.

Indiana is coming off two of its worst games all season, losing 85-60 at Iowa on Saturday and 94-69 at home to Illinois on Tuesday. That has put even more pressure on coach Mike Woodson to turn things around in his fourth season as the Hoosiers stand at 13-5 overall and 4-3 in Big Ten play, with a tough stretch ahead.

On the other side, Ohio State has lost three of its last four games and needed double-overtime on Jan. 6 to win at Minnesota, which has not won a Big Ten game this season. The Buckeyes are 10-7 overall and 2-4 in Big Ten play in coach Jake Diebler’s first full season after taking over for Chris Holtmann as the interim head coach late last season.

Here’s a full breakdown of the Buckeyes.

Key players

G Bruce Thornton: 17.4 ppg, 4.4 apg, 43.3 3pt FG%
F Devin Royal: 13.8 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 53.5 FG%
G John Mobley Jr.: 11.9 ppg, 1.8 apg, 43.0 3pt FG%
F Micah Parrish: 10 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 34.3 3pt FG%
G Meechie Johnson Jr.: 9.1 ppg, 2.7 apg, 35.7 3pt FG%
F Aaron Bradshaw: 7.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 46.7 FG%
G Ques Glover: 6.3 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 50.0 3pt FG%
F Sean Stewart: 6.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 53.2 FG%
F Evan Mahaffey: 4.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 70.6 FG%
C Ivan Njegovan: 2.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 66.7 FG%
F Colin White: 2.0 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 37.5 3pt FG%
C Austin Parks: 1.4 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 53.8 FG%

Key departures

(2034-24 stats)

F Jamison Battle: 15.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 43.3 3pt FG%
G Roddy Gayle Jr.: 13.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 28.4 3pt FG%
C Felix Okpara: 6.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.4 bpg, 58.6 FG%
F Zed Key: 6.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 50.9 FG%
G Dale Bonner: 4.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 29.0 3pt FG%
G Scotty Middleton: 4.4 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 45.2 3pt FG%

2024-25 schedule (10-7, 2-4)

W, 80-72 vs. No. 19 Texas (neutral)
W, 81-47 vs. Youngstown State
L, 78-64 at No. 23 Texas A&M
W, 80-30 vs. Evansville
W, 104-60 vs. Campbell
W, 102-69 vs. Green Bay
L, 91-90 (OT) vs. Pittsburgh
L, 83-59 at Maryland
W, 80-66 vs. Rutgers
L, 91-53 vs. No. 2 Auburn (neutral)
W, 95-73 vs. Valparaiso
W, 85-65 vs. No. 4 Kentucky (neutral)
W, 103-83 vs. Indiana State
L, 69-62 vs. No. 18 Michigan State
W, 89-88 (2 OT) at Minnesota
L, 73-71 vs. No. 15 Oregon
L, 70-68 at No. 24 Wisconsin

Head coach: Jake Diebler

Diebler is in his first full season as Ohio State’s head coach after taking over for Chris Holtmann late last season as the interim head coach. Diebler went 8-3 with the Buckeyes last season, including a four-game win streak at the end of the regular season, a win in the Big Ten Tournament and two wins in the NIT. Diebler has been on the Ohio State staff since 2019, beginning as an assistant and later being promoted to associate head coach and interim head coach. He was also an assistant at Vanderbilt from 2016-19 and at Valparaiso from 2009-13. Diebler, 38, played at Valparaiso from 2005-09.

Ohio State coach Jake Diebler against Oregon at Value City Arena. / Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Series history

Indiana leads the all-time series 112-87. The Hoosiers have won three straight games, including both matchups last season. Woodson is 4-1 against the Buckeyes with a 1-1 record in Columbus. Archie Miller went 1-6. Indiana is 20-23 against Ohio State since 2000.

Strengths

Ohio State is led by a veteran point guard in junior Bruce Thornton, who has started all but one game since stepping foot on campus three seasons ago. After third-team All-Big Ten honors last season, Thornton has increased his scoring average from 15.7 to 17.4 points and his 3-point shooting from 33.3% to 43.3% on 3.9 attempts per game. Ohio State’s offense is run through Thornton, and Indiana’s defense must make life more difficult for him than the Hoosiers did against Illinois' guards Tuesday.

Thornton’s shooting improvements reflect Ohio State’s offensive growth overall. Last season, the Buckeyes ranked 154th nationally with a 45.0% field goal percentage and 151st with a 34.5% 3-point percentage. This year, however, they rank 41st and 43rd in those categories, respectively. Along with Thornton, Ohio State’s biggest 3-point threat is freshman John Mobley Jr., who’s attempted a team-high 86 3-pointers and enters Friday’s game at 43%. Newcomers like San Diego State transfer Micah Parrish and South Carolina transfer Meechie Johnson are other threats the Hoosiers must defend better than recent losses to Illinois and Iowa.

Ohio State guard John Mobley Jr. (0) shoots a 3-pointer against Michigan State at Value City Arena. / Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Ohio State has also done a great job taking care of the ball. Opponents average just 4.2 steals per game, which puts the Buckeyes first nationally in that category. Defensively, Ohio State has limited its opponents to a woeful 39.4% field goal percentage and a 29.1% 3-point percentage, both of which put the Buckeyes top-30 nationally from a defensive perspective.

Weaknesses

Ohio State hosts the Hoosiers on the heels of its worst stretch of the season. The Buckeyes have lost three of its last four games, albeit to top-25 teams Wisconsin, Oregon and Michigan State. Its only win during that run was a double-overtime victory at Minnesota, the Big Ten’s only winless team at 8-9 overall and 0-6 in conference play.

Ohio State shot below 30% from 3-point range in three of those four games and surpassed its season-long average in turnovers. Defensively, it gave up the third-most points of the season against Minnesota and allowed four Gophers to score 18-plus points.

Indiana may look to exploit Ohio State’s front court in this game. Devin Royal is one of the Big Ten’s most improved players – going from 4.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game last season to 13.8 points and 7.4 rebounds this year – but he’s a bit undersized at 6-foot-6 compared to Indiana’s 7-foot center Oumar Ballo and 6-foot-9 forward Mackenzie Mgbako. Woodson also noted before the Illinois game that he hopes 6-foot-9 forward Malik Reneau can return for Friday’s game, which would be a big boost for the Hoosiers to get their leading scorer back.

Ohio State forward Aaron Bradshaw (4) against Oregon at Value City Arena. / Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Two of Ohio State’s biggest offseason additions were Kentucky transfer center Aaron Bradshaw and Duke transfer power forward Sean Stewart. Both were ranked among the top seven transfers at their positions nationally going into their sophomore seasons. Bradshaw was the nation’s No. 5 recruit out of high school, and Stewart was ranked No. 22. But neither have panned out at the college level yet. Bradshaw is averaging 7.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, and Stewart provides 6.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

Season and game outlook

Ohio State was picked to finish eighth in the preseason Big Ten poll. The Buckeyes are currently in a three-way tie for 12th place in the standings, though they’ve played the nation’s 14th strength of schedule. From a metrics standpoint, Ohio State is ranked No. 31 nationally by KenPom, No. 50 by Bart Torvik and No. 31 in the NET rankings with a 2-7 record in Quad 1 games. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi gave the Buckeyes a No. 10 seed as one of the last four byes in his latest Bracketology.

ESPN Analytics gives Ohio State a 77.7% chance of victory, and KenPom predicts a 77-70 Ohio State victory over Indiana. Both teams enter the game stumbling, as Indiana suffered two straight 25-point losses to Illinois and Iowa, and Ohio State has lost three of its last four games. Indiana’s advantage in this game comes in the frontcourt, but that could be offset if Ohio State continues its efficient 3-point shooting and limits turnovers against a struggling Indiana defense.