Ohio State and Indiana came into the game both clinging to their tournament lives and in their home finale, it was Indiana who likely stamped their ticket into March as Ohio State blew a 10 point second half lead to fall to the Hoosiers 66-60, dropping the Buckeyes to 17-12, 9-11 and likely in need of two wins in Indianapolis to secure their spot in the NCAA tournament. Indiana won for the fourth time in five games to improve their record to 19-12, 10-10. The Buckeyes led by 5 with 5 minutes to play, but failed to score another field goal as Indiana out scored the Buckeyes 15-4 to close out the game to come from behind and deal Ohio State a loss they simply could not have with their NCAA tournament lives at stake. Ohio State out shot Indiana, although both were poor, with the Buckeyes hitting on just 38%, 8 of 26 from long range and Indiana hitting just 35% of their attempts and only 5 of 20 from deep. The Hoosiers went to the line 31 times, making 23 of them, while Ohio State only went to the stripe 15 times, making 10. 18 second chance points, created by 14 offensive rebounds along with 10 Buckeye turnovers leading to 12 Hoosier points were critical in getting Indiana the win. Ohio State was led by a game high 19 from Micah Parrish, while Devin Royal added 13 in the loss. Indiana got 16 each by Malik Reneau and Trey Galloway along with 11 by Luke Goode in the win.

Both teams shared the lead in the opening 4 minutes after the Hoosiers scored on their opening possession. The Buckeyes went ahead when a transition three by Devin Royal fell through the ropes and after the Hoosiers scored the next three to go back ahead, Micah Parrish took the ball away from a Hoosier on the perimeter and went the other way, giving it up to John Mobley, Jr. and getting it right back for two off the window. Another Hoosier bucket tied the game and at the first media timeout the game was tied at 5. After Indiana split two free throws to go back in front, back to back scores by Bruce Thornton and Mobley put the Buckeyes up three. A bucket and another 1 of 2 free throws re-tied the score and at the under 12, the game was tied at 9. The Buckeyes scored the next 6. A pair of Ques Glover jumpers sandwiched a steal and score by Parrish forcing Indiana to call a timeout with Ohio State leading 15-9. An Indiana triple stopped a 4 ½ minute Hoosier scoring drought, but on the other end, Devin Royal got to the rim and scored off the window through contact and at the under 8 minute media timeout, Ohio State led Indiana 17-12. Out of the timeout, Royal went to the stripe to complete the three point play and he did just that, splashing the free throw to extend the lead to 6. A pair of offensive rebound buckets cut into the Buckeye lead before Mobley buried a 17 foot jumper from the top. A Sean Stewart offensive rebound and kick out to Mobley led to a three to extend the lead and after Indiana split a pair of freebies, Parrish splashed a three to put the Buckeyes up by 9. An Indiana bucket preceded the final media timeout of the half and with 2:46 to play in the first twenty minutes, Ohio State led 26-19. After a Hoosier bucket sliced the lead back to 5, Aaron Bradshaw drilled a three from the left wing. After Parrish missed a pair of free throws attempting to grow the lead to 10, the Hoosiers scored the final 4 of the half as Mobley was tackled attempting a three at the horn without a call. Nonetheless the Buckeyes took a 29-25 lead into the half. The Buckeyes out shot the Hoosiers 46% to 31% with Ohio State hitting 4 of 13 from long range and Indiana just 1 of 9 from deep. The Hoosiers stayed in the game due to their work on the glass, out rebounding the Buckeyes 20-12 including 8 offensive that turned into 8 second chance points. Neither team was good from the line, although the Hoosiers were there a lot more, hitting on just 6 of 10, while Ohio State missed 2 of their 3 attempts. Ohio State was led by 7 each from John Mobley, Jr. and Micah Parrish while Trey Galloway led Indiana with 7. 

The Hoosiers opened the second half with a three to extend their run to 7-0, cutting the lead to 1, but Parrish answered on the other end with a three of his own to up the lead back to 4. A Sean Stewart bucket was answered by a quick hitter on the other end, but a transition lay up by Parrish upped the lead back to 6. A pair of Hoosier free throws preceded the first media timeout of the second half with Ohio State hanging on to a 36-32 lead. Parrish splashed in a three to extend the lead and after a Hoosier bucket, back to back scores by Royal and Glover forced Indiana to take a timeout with 13:01 left in the game, Ohio State led 43-34. An IU score was answered by a three on the right wing by Royal and at the under 12, the Buckeyes led 46-36. Indiana roared back with 5 straight and Jake Diebler took a timeout at the 11:08 mark with Ohio State’s lead cut to 46-41. A Thornton triple ended the run and upped the lead back to 8, but four more Hoosier points cut the lead to 49-45 as the 8 minute media timeout was called at the 8:10 mark. A flagrant 1 foul on Mobley created free throws for Indiana and both dropped cutting the lead to just 2 and with Indiana keeping possession, a foul put them on the stripe and both fell tying the ballgame as Indiana was on a 13-3 run. The Buckeyes went ahead when Stewart split two free throws, but two free throws by Indiana put the Hoosiers on top for the first time since the opening minutes. The lead changed hands again when Royal took a Mobley pass in the lane and scored and after a Hoosier miss, Parrish went to the line and sunk the pair to put the Buckeyes up 3. Two Thornton free throws dropped and Ohio State led 56-51 with 5 minutes to play. A mis-communication left a wide open Hoosier for three and the Buckeyes turned it back over to Indiana with 4 minutes to play and with the final media timeout being called, Ohio State led 56-54. A foul put the Hoosiers on the stripe where they hit the pair to tie the game with 3:45 to play. Royal went to the line on the other end where he missed both, but an offensive rebound by Evan Mahaffey created a new possession for the Buckeyes and Ohio State took a timeout with 3:30 to play and the game tied at 56. The Buckeyes failed to convert and a foul on the other end put Indiana back on the line where both fell and the Hoosiers had scored the last 7 to take a 2 point lead. An IU triple was the dagger as Ohio State hadn’t scored in over 3 minutes. Two Hoosier free throws added to the lead with Indiana on a 12-0 run to take what looked like a Buckeye win and turned it into a devastating loss. A pair of Thornton free throws with just under a minute left cut the deficit to 5. The Buckeyes picked up a steal but three tries at a three banged off target and after Indiana split a pair of free throws, Parrish stepped on the sideline turning it back to Indiana with 34 seconds left. After Indiana split two free throws, Parrish hit a pair and the Hoosier lead was 5 with 17 seconds left. Indiana split two free throws to complete the scoring as the Hoosiers came from behind to stun Ohio State and send them home searching for answers. 

It has been the story of the season. Ohio State has built leads late in ball games on numerous occasions this season, but they have been unable to finish in many of them and this one was no different. When the opponent goes on a run, the offense seems to speed up in the half court and movement away from the ball becomes non-existent. They rely on one on one isolation way too much in those situations and more often than not it burns them. They lack a guy or guys who can get a bucket when one is needed to stymie a run and the result is just like today, they can’t stop the momentum and end up falling apart late. This was a game that was there for the taking and a win likely punched their ticket into the NCAA tournament and now they are going to have to make a run in Indianapolis to make that happen or they will miss their third straight appearance and for a school like Ohio State, that is simply unacceptable. This team is young and barring transfers returns a lot of talent, but that is of no consequence or consolation for this year’s group who came into the season with high hopes. Although they have suffered through quite a bit of adversity, everything was in front of them today and for 35 minutes, it looked like it would be a job well done, but the final 5 minutes was a complete collapse putting the pressure on next week to come off the mat and punch their ticket or likely be selected to the inaugural College Basketball Crown Tournament in Las Vegas presented by Fox pitting teams from the Big Ten, SEC and Big 12. 

The Buckeyes will tip it up next in Indianapolis in the Big Ten tournament as the #10 seed, playing most likely 15th seed Northwestern on Wednesday at approximately 6 pm on Peacock.

-Jason Harris