Hoosiers hope road troubles won't continue at Ohio State

The IU men's basketball team takes its show on the road this week for two Big Ten games that could prove crucial for IU's NCAA Tournament hopes. It all starts tonight when the Hoosiers travel to Columbus, Ohio, to challenge Ohio State and continues Sunday at Michigan.\nThe Hoosiers currently stand at 6-4 in the Big Ten and 11-10 overall -- good for fourth place in the conference behind Wisconsin, who at 7-4 has played one more Big Ten game.\nIU coach Mike Davis said the Hoosiers need to win at least one of these two road games. Davis said if the Hoosiers can get to nine or 10 wins in the Big Ten, they should be in great shape.\n"Everybody struggles on the road," Davis said after Saturday's home win versus Minnesota. "Everybody except Illinois."\nRoad games haven't been fruitful for the Hoosiers. IU's victory at Purdue is currently the Hoosiers' only Big Ten road win, and that win didn't come easy. IU squeaked out a double-overtime victory versus the 10th-place Boilers.\nLast season, the Hoosiers beat Ohio State in Columbus. This season, however, the Buckeyes look to present a stiffer challenge under new head coach Thad Matta. Ohio State, ineligible for postseason play because of self-imposed sanctions, already has eclipsed last seasons' win total with a 17-8 record overall and 6-5 in the Big Ten compared to last season's 14-16 tally.\nIU defeated Ohio State at Assembly Hall Jan. 22 in their last meeting, but since then, Ohio State has won five of their last six games.\nAlthough last year's IU team folded down the stretch, Davis said this year's team won't have a similar fate.\n"This team is tougher than last year's team," Davis said. "This team is playing a lot harder than the team last year played."\nIU had to get tougher since junior Bracey Wright went down with an ankle sprain. Since Wright's injury, IU is 1-1. Davis said he was unsure if Wright would play against the Buckeyes but expected him to play versus Michigan. \nWright led IU with 23 points for the win earlier this season against Ohio State and scored 28 last year when the Hoosiers traveled east to Columbus' Value City Arena.\nTo win tonight, the Hoosiers will most likely again have to find other sources of offense besides their leading scorer Wright. In the first game without Wright at Illinois, IU struggled. A week of practice without Wright leading up to the Minnesota game helped the Hoosiers, as that preparation led to a balanced offensive attack in the win versus the Gophers.\nFreshman A.J. Ratliff's 15 points Saturday contributed to the balanced scoring attack. Ratliff said playing on the road is where the Hoosiers are falling short.\n"I think Ohio State has our number, and we have their number, so it's going to be kind of a dog fight going into their house," Ratliff said. \nThe Hoosiers know that every game is vital to improve their résumé for the NCAA Tournament. And junior guard Marshall Strickland knows the Hoosiers have their work cut out for them as they look to become the Big Ten's fourth or possibly fifth entry into the Tournament.\n"It's reasonable for us," Strickland said. "I think that we can make it. It's a tough road. We've got a lot of games to win. These are both games that we can win."\n-- Contact Staff Writer John Rodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.