Rebounding is an issue in both of Ohio State’s basketball programs. On Thursday night, Indiana outrebounded the Buckeyes 34-20, which was a big win for Indiana. For Indiana, it was also about ball movement. They passed the ball very well, totaling 21 assists for the game.
But the place where the Hoosiers were most on fire is in the biggest fundamental in basketball: shooting. IU was over 50-50-85 for the game! They were 25 of 46 from the field (54.3%), 9 of 17 from beyond the arc (52.9%), and 12 of 14 from the from the free throw line (85.7%).
While the Hoosiers were burning brightly in Assembly Hall, Ohio State was struggling. As a team, outside of their two stars, they floundered. They went 11 of 28 for the people not named Cotie McMahon or Jaloni Cambridge for only 29 points. They shot 42.1% from the field, 33.3% from three-point range, and 58.3% from the free throw line.
This was a game the Buckeyes should have won, especially with their talent. But they did show some moxie in the turnover battle. Indiana had 21 turnovers, 12 of them steals forced by Ohio State that turned into 20 points for the Buckeyes. This wasn’t a case of the Buckeyes not having their hearts in the game; it was just the Hoosiers shooting at a crazy level.
Luckily, when you’ve been solid in the top three of the conference and were 22-3 coming into this one, you can afford to have a bad game. Unlike their men’s counterparts, this loss won’t affect the women’s postseason hopes that much. They come home for Purdue, who is the third-worst team in the conference and face Michigan State (a team as sneaky good as IU) in your home finale before wrapping up on the road against Maryland.
The Terps are 21-6 (11-5) and just barely behind the 22-4 (11-4) Buckeyes.