Ohio State Routs Indiana to Win Sixth Straight Big Ten Game
Life in the Big Ten is never easy. This year in particular, the staggering depth in the conference just might help a Big Ten team make a run at a Final Four (maybe more than one).
Ohio State is one of the three teams that would be considered the class of the league this year, and Indiana is barely over .500 with wins over Iowa, but they are fighting for their NCAA Tournament lives. And yet, the distance in the standings between the two teams this season is not indicative of how competitive they are, nor does it measure Indiana's heart.
Nevertheless, sporting white throwback uniforms from the 1980's, Ohio State's offense proved way too much for the Hoosiers on Saturday in a 78-59 final score.
With the win, the Buckeyes have now earned six straight victories and nine in their last 10 games.
Indiana trailed by double digits early in the first half for the third straight game, but rallied to get back in the game. The Buckeyes got off to a ridiculously hot start, ripping off a 19-0 run that stretched nearly seven minutes in the first half. They led 21-6 with 10 minutes to play, and increased that lead to 31-15 with just over five minutes before halftime. But Indiana closed the first half with a 13-3 run and tightened the deficit to only 10 at the break.
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With both teams playing well offensively in the second half, Jerome Hunter picked up a personal foul and a a technical foul with just under nine minutes to play. That forced him to the bench. That gave both him and Race Thompson four personal fouls and put Indiana's frontcourt in a tough spot.
That came right at the beginning of an 8-0 run by the Buckeyes that put them up 65-44 and Indiana never recovered.
After E.J. Liddell and Duane Washington combined for 24 points in the first half, it was a more balanced attack offensively the rest of the way. The Buckeyes hit 9-of-16 to start the second half and pull away from Indiana.
Liddell finished the game with 19 . Washington cashed in 12 and Justice Sueing had another double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, after not scoring against Maryland last time out. Oddly enough, Justin Ahrens wasn't much of a factor in this one. One of the best 3-point shooters in the country had just five points. He didn't' hit his first basket of the game until nailing a 3-ball with 5:43 to play.
The Hoosiers undoing came because of their sloppiness with the ball. IU turned it over 15 times, which Ohio State converted into 21 points. The Buckeyes also crushed Indiana on the offensive glass. Sueing and Zed Key combined for 10 offensive rebounds alone.
More to come after Chris Holtmann's post-game press conference, which you can watch live below. If you miss it live, you can watch the replay in its entirety here:
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