COLUMBUS, Ohio - Coming off just their second win in their last eight games, Ohio State will be looking to carry momentum into Saturday's noon matchup against Indiana.
The Buckeyes dropped their first game against Indiana after a second half in which they scored just 20 points and shot 21.4 percent from the field.
Indiana starting forward Justin Smith went just 2-of-11 from the field, but the Hoosiers saw important contributions from their bench, including 19 points from Devonte Davis.
Ohio State will have a better idea of how to handle Indiana's bench this time around, but head coach Chris Holtmann said on Thursday that the Hoosiers can attack you in a lot of different ways.
"They've got a diverse attack," Holtmann said. "They've got great interior size, they get to the free throw line better than anybody in our league, and a lot of that is through their bigs."
Indiana had 36 free throw attempts compared to Ohio State's 19 attempts despite the Buckeyes having just five more fouls, 24-19, than the Hoosiers. Luther Muhammad fouled out of the contest and D.J. Carton, Kaleb Wesson, CJ Walker and E.J. Liddell all had at least three fouls.
If Ohio State wants to return the favor to Indiana at home this time, they'll need to limit the three-point shooting of the Hoosiers who shot 50 percent from three-point range earlier in January.
These issues combined with the 16 turnovers by Ohio State against Indiana last time have highlighted the problems the Buckeyes have faced since they began a full conference schedule.
With six days off between Saturday's matchup and Ohio State's last game against Minnesota, it has given the Buckeyes some time to reflect and soul search about where they are as a team, and Justin Ahrens said it's helped them put things into perspective.
"I think that helped put into perspective how hard the Big Ten is," Ahrens said. "You gotta bring it every game. I feel like we've definitely gotten a lot tougher and we're playing smarter than what we were. Obviously we're not where we need to be yet but I feel like we're taking steps in the right direction."
Another wrinkle now added to Saturday's game (and beyond) concerns Carton. Ohio State announced Thursday evening that the freshman will be taking some time off from the program while he addresses his mental health.
While Carton has not started in the last two games, he's been valuable off the bench with 17 points against Northwestern, so the Buckeyes will be wishing the best for him moving forward as he works to strengthen his mental health.
This now leaves a hole in the bench for Ohio State, and while the Carton's decision had not yet been announced when Holtmann spoke on Thursday, he implied that the starting lineups are still a work in progress moving forward.
"I think that's still a work in progress," Holtmann said. "Some of that has been a byproduct of injuries, illness. We've had more of that then then we've ever had."
Ohio State's second go-round with the Hoosiers will tip off on Saturday at noon at The Schottenstein Center. Additionally, the game can be viewed on ESPN.
