My Two Cents: Figuring Out Indiana's Power Forward Situation, Ohio State's Recent Struggles
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Race Thompson is back from a knee injury that knocked him out for nearly three weeks, and it's made for some interesting debate in who should be getting the minutes at the power forward spot.
And it's a worthy debate.
Thompson, a sixth-year senior, started every game before his injury, and Jordan Geronimo started in his absence. Freshman Malik Reneau has had some nice moments, too, including 10 first-half points at Minnesota.
He was a non-factor in the second half, though, getting burned defensively on one possession and never returning. Geronimo only played six minutes the whole game. It was a strange set of substitutions, riding with Thompson for practically the entire second half in the 61-57 win.
Indiana coach Mike Woodson missed the game because of COVID, and assistant Yasir Rosemond coached the team, with help from Kenya Hunter and Brian Walsh. After the game, when questioned about minutes, he said Hunter and Walsh did the substituting so he could focus on the game.
Four decades of covering basketball, and I had never heard that one before.
Geronimo has been good during this streak, so it was odd to see him only get six minutes. And Reneau had a great first half, leading the team with 10 points. To get yanked after one defensive possession and never returning? Seemed a little extreme to me.
"It was just a matchup deal,'' Rosemond said. "We put him in in the second half, and they were playing small, so it was a tough matchup for him. They just kept driving us and driving us and wee were giving them easy baskets. It was nothing against him and there was nothing that he did wrong. He contributed in the first half and his contributions were great.
"Coach Walsh and Coach Kenya, they handled the substitutions. I was just trying to coach. We kind of game-planned, and stuck to the game plan. In timeouts, I just tried to stay calm. I was just trying to keep the guys calm in the huddle and I just kept telling them that if we were going to pull it out, we were going to do it defensively because our shots weren't falling.''
A freshman big man is going to make mistakes. But don't you live with a bad defensive play in exchange for two or three nice plays on the offensive end? Or four or five?
Thompson only had four points, but he made a lot of big plays. In the first half, he blocked a shot and took off running. Miller Kopp put up a quick transition three-pointer and missed, but Thompson swooped in and grabbed the rebound. He kicked the ball right back out to Kopp, who nailed his next attempt.
Of the three, Thompson is a better perimeter defender, and he was great on that end down the stretch, where Minnesota made just one shot in the final 6:20.
Reneau is a bit slow on the perimeter, and I have always said that Geronimo is a great ''vertical'' athlete. He can jump through the roof, and he's a great offensive rebounder, but he isn't good guarding straight-line drives. That's why he hardly ever sees minutes at Kopp's small forward spot. Kopp is a much better defender away from the rim.
Starting Saturday night, it's going to be more about matchups, too. Mike Woodson is scheduled to be back on Saturday night, and he will most certainly push buttons different that Rosemond did.
Hard to figure? Absolutely. Going with the hot hand is usually a good thing, but the matchups likely will win out.
Speaking of confusing, it's really hard to figure out the Buckeyes, who were considered a top-four team in the Big Ten at the first of the year. But in the past three weeks, they've lost six of seven league games and they're far closer to the bottom of the standings than the top, which no one — including Ohio State's players and coaches — expected.
Ohio State senior point guard Isaac Likekele is a good microcosm of their troubles. The 6-foot-5 senior from played well in the 93-77 win over Iowa last Saturday, scoring 18 points.
But in the Buckeyes' six losses, he's just 6-for-24 from the field, a meager 25.0 percent and an average of just ONE made field goal per game. Fellow guard Sean McNeil, a transfer from West Virginia, has been up and down, too.
They'd be lost without freshman Brice Sensabaugh, who's led them in scoring 11 games in a row, something no other Ohio State freshman has EVER done. The 6-foot-6 freshman from Orlando, Fla, has scored in double figures in 13 straight games, and he's shooting 46.7 percent from three-point range. He's going to be a tough cover for Indiana's defense on Saturday night, and it's going to be interesting to see how much attention he gets from the Hoosiers' defensive game plan.
Up front, the Buckeyes rely heavily on Zed Key, but he's been fighting through injuries this season, and hurt his knee last Saturday in the closing minutes of the Iowa game. He played in the loss at Illinois on Tuesday, but didn't look 100 percent.
That's not a good sign, considering Trayce Jackson-Davis is his next battle in the post. He's 6-foot-8 and strong, but that assignment is tough on two good legs. It's going to be interesting to see if he can be full-go from start to finish.
"Zed is banged up and he's dealing with some injuries,'' Ohio State associate head coach Jake Diebler said. "I think that's absolutely affected his efficiency.''
Jackson-Davis has averaged 27.3 points and 14.3 rebounds per game during Indiana's four-game winning streak, and unless the Buckeyes can keep him at bay, it's going to be a long night.
Desperate teams can be scary, and the Hoosiers will have to be at their best tonight. They played great during the first three wins in this streak, impressive beatdowns of Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan State. They needed a last-minute rally to beat last-place Minnesota 61-57 on Wednesday night, and they'll need to play far better than that on Saturday to pull away with a win.
Trayce's roll has been so impressive that it's hard to think of any way Indiana loses at home to Ohio State. Certainly, others need to step up. I said the same thing last Sunday prior to the Michigan State game, and Trey Galloway and Tamar Bates both answered the call, scoring 17 points each. More of the same will help.
I mentioned this morning that I was surprised the opening line of 4.5 wasn't higher. Indiana has been really good at home lately and I was guessing more like seven points seemed more reasonable. It has crept up to 5.5 points at 5 p.m. ET, and that's a logical move.
I can see Indiana winning by seven or more. I do think Trayce will continue his amazing run, but I can guarantee he's going to get a lot of double coverage tonight. Bates and Galloway are far more comfortable at home, and they need to hit some shots tonight. So does Jalen Hood-Schifino, who has scored a TOTAL of just eight points in the past two game, on just 3-for-17 shooting.
I like Hood-Schifino in this point guard showdown, so a good bounce-back game from him would be well received. I'm thinking Indiana, 79-71.
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- HOW TO WATCH: Indiana basketball (14-6, 5-4) hosts Ohio State (11-9, 3-6) on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind. Here's how to watch, with game time and TV information, three leading storylines, the latest on the point spread, the coaching matchup, series history and more. CLICK HERE
- OPENING LINE: Indiana looks to continue its hot streak on Saturday night with a home game against Ohio State on national television. The Hoosiers, looking for their fifth-straight win, are modest favorites. Here's the opening line, and a great history on both teams vs. the number this season. CLICK HERE
- WOODSON EXPECTED TO RETURN: Indiana coach Mike Woodson is expected to be back in action on Saturday against Ohio State after missing Wednesday's game against Minnesota with COVID. CLICK HERE
- TOM BREW COLUMN: No one should be surprised that Indiana didn't get that fourth-straight Big Ten blowout win at Minnesota. It's hard to do. You have to go all the way back to 1976 to find an Indiana team that won four league games in a row by 13 points or more. Here is today's fun Indiana basketball history lesson. CLICK HERE
- JACKSON-DAVIS SETS IU BLOCKS RECORD: Trayce Jackson-Davis set the Indiana basketball record with 233 career blocked shots in Wednesday's win at Minnesota, passing Jeffrey Newton's previous record that stood since 2003. Take a look back at some memorable blocks from Jackson-Davis' freshman to senior year. CLICK HERE
- IU-MINNESOTA GAME STORY: Trayce Jackson-Davis led Indiana with 25 points and 21 rebounds, and got a huge offensive rebound and basket in the final minute to give the Hoosiers a 61-57 win at Minnesota on Wednesday. It was the first 20/20 game for an Indiana player since D.J. White in 2008. CLICK HERE
