How Indiana Basketball Dug an Early Grave at Ohio State: 'The Lead Exploded'

COLUMBUS, Ohio — After Reed Bailey’s and-one, Nick Dorn’s 3-pointer and Conor Enright’s layup, Indiana basketball gave itself the chance to strike and the right to dream.

The Hoosiers trailed Ohio State, 28-17, after Buckeyes senior guard Bruce Thornton buried a 3-pointer with just under 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Indiana responded with an 8-0 push in just over two minutes, seizing momentum, capturing energy and inspiring confidence it had a chance to claim an ever-important victory.

Then, the wheels fell off.

Over the next seven-and-a-half minutes, Ohio State went 9-for-11 shooting from the field and 4 of 5 from 3-point range while outscoring Indiana, 22-8, to earn a 50-33 lead at the break.

The Hoosiers (18-13, 9-11 Big Ten) never pulled within single digits again, falling 91-78 to Ohio State (20-11, 12-8 Big Ten) on Saturday night at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus. And Indiana coach Darian DeVries is left to rue the damage created by the fate-breaking stretch to end the first half.

“We weren't able to get a stop there the end of that first half,” DeVries said postgame. “So, that was a huge stretch right in there. I thought we were back and forth a little bit, in decent shape. And then they got going, they got a couple drives to the rim, hit a few threes, and the lead exploded.”

In a game it so desperately needed for its NCAA Tournament hopes, Indiana struggled getting stops. Ohio State shot 59.2% from the field, went 11-for-24 shooting from 3-point range and averaged 1.422 points per possession.

DeVries cited the Hoosiers’ perimeter defense as a particularly glaring issue. Over its last four losses, Indiana has allowed opponents to shoot 39 of 79 from 3-point range, a 49.4% clip. The Hoosiers are giving up too many clean looks, DeVries said, and it’s caught up to them down the stretch in Big Ten play.

Indiana’s offense stumbled, too. The Hoosiers went 1-for-8 shooting from 3-point range in the first half and made 46.4% of their attempts overall while digging an early grave.

After a fine start out of the gates — Indiana took a 5-0 lead and had 8 points at the Under-16 timeout — the Hoosiers struggled with Ohio State’s defense, which switched and denied more intensively and limited Indiana’s penetration.

Midway through the second half, Indiana adjusted and found ways to get to the rim. The Hoosiers shot 65.2% from the floor and were 4 of 10 from distance in the second half, averaging 1.452 points per possession. It didn’t matter. The hole was too deep to escape.

“It was a little too late on that offensive end,” DeVries said.

Indiana came to life just enough to apply game pressure on Ohio State. After senior forward Sam Alexis made a free throw to cap his and-one layup, the Hoosiers trailed by 10 points with just over three minutes to play.

On a 9-2 run, Indiana had momentum. Then, Ohio State junior forward Devin Royal drilled an and-one 3-pointer. The Hoosiers went only 2 of 5 from the field over the last three minutes, and the air, at last, left their sails.

“We were right where we wanted to be,” senior forward Reed Bailey said postgame. “I think it was right around the beginning of the three-minute mark, we cut it to 11, and I think we just got to find something to be able to dig deeper at that point to be able to come out and keep clawing back.”

Indiana entered Saturday firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble. The Hoosiers’ postseason hopes aren’t fully gone, but they’re on life support.

As losers of five of its last six games, Indiana will arrive in Chicago for next week’s Big Ten Tournament with its back against the wall. The Hoosiers have a bad taste in their mouth, Bailey said, and DeVries added the team’s focus is solely on turning the page toward the next chapter.

Indiana had a chance to end its regular season with an exclamation point, with a resume-boosting, postseason-helping win. But the Buckeyes are deeper and more talented than the Hoosiers, who’ve fallen short against similar teams over the past month.

Nearly four months to the day of its regular season opener, Indiana suffered perhaps its most fate-deciding defeat of the calendar — and the Hoosiers, after a first half marred by uncharacteristic turnovers, missed shots and defensive breakdowns, flew back to Bloomington buried in the mess they created, forced to believe in the chance for a last-ditch miracle in Chicago.

“Obviously, we want to play well. We want to put ourselves in a position to win the game, and for us to have a stretch like that, it's certainly disappointing,” DeVries said. “But our guys are going to continue to battle, that's all I know. So, we're going to get home, we're going to get ready for our next game.”

Indiana, the No. 10 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, will tip off at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in Chicago. The tournament once appeared an opportunity for the Hoosiers to play for a better seed line. Now, it looks like the final chance for DeVries’ first team to save itself — and it’ll need better execution than it showed Saturday in Columbus.