Column: IU outmatched against one of nation's best teams

I mean, really, what could IU have done?

Maybe the refs could've let the Hoosiers play 7-on-5. Or spotted them 10 points.
OK, 20 points.

In IU's 85-67 loss Friday to Ohio State - the nation's No. 2-ranked team, an undefeated team that looks primed to win the Big Ten, and a team that was so clearly better than the Hoosiers that the game was at times painful to watch - it's tough to fault IU.

Sure, the Hoosiers (9-6) could have played better. In reality, Ohio State could have, too.

IU shot 50 percent from the field (25-for-50) and played with some confidence, at least offensively. Consider the Buckeyes had been holding opponents to 39.2 percent shooting entering the game.

And despite absolutely no one on IU that could match up against likely Big Ten Freshman of the Year and potential Player of the Year Jared Sullinger in the post, Sullinger was "limited" to 19 points and nine rebounds.

But Ohio State is a good basketball team. If IU's focus was on locking down the inside, than Ohio State was going to take advantage from the outside. The Buckeyes did by knocking down 13-of-19 three pointers to tie an Assembly Hall record.

"That's the way basketball is supposed to be played in the way they play together on offense and defense," IU coach Tom Crean said. "They're such a dominant team, and they're so good at so many positions that you just can't let guys do things that they don't normally do in games."

It's hard to beat the nation's No. 2 team when said team hits 60 percent from the field and nearly 70 percent from long range.

I'm not giving IU a moral victory - far from it - in this game. IU is a flawed basketball team, and those flaws are becoming ever-apparent since this four-game losing streak began in Las Vegas before Christmas.

Those flaws - lack of a frontcourt, poor defensive communication and rotation, etc. - weren't going to be fixed against Ohio State.

Ohio State's frontcourt consists of Dallas Lauderdale and Sullinger who combine for 22 points and 15 rebounds per game.

IU's frontcourt consists of Tom Pritchard, Derek Elston, and Bobby Capobianco who account for nine points and nine rebounds per game.

The Buckeyes have five players that average double figures and all five, if they were Hoosiers, would be one of the best players on the team.

After the game, Crean and the players were, rightly so, still looking to address the flaws, still expressing disappointment in the result.

"It's a discombobulated puzzle right now," Crean said. "But our job is to try and continue to put these pieces in the best position to play and compete and win each and every individual game."

Sophomore guard Jordan Hulls addressed some of the defensive lapses on rotating to cover the shooter.

"We just didn't execute as well as we needed," Hulls said. "We did it correctly in practice, we worked on it, and tonight we didn't do it well enough."

The fixable flaws must be, well, fixed for IU to win some Big Ten games this year.

That being said, maybe it's the holiday spirit that is withholding too much criticism after this game, but there has been and will be enough criticism of the team this year.

This contest was a mismatch from the outset and anything significantly better than an 18-point loss would have been a surprise.

Unless, of course, IU used a 7-man starting lineup.