Column: IU gets critical win in Columbus

Unlike Thursday night’s loss to Illinois, the IU men’s basketball team pieced together a complete 40-minute performance to put Ohio State away when the Buckeyes were on the ropes Sunday.

“It takes consciousness,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “When our guys absorb what they need to do and do it, that’s when you can put a team away.”

After a stunning collapse to the Illini in Champaign, the Hoosiers could have easily let that loss affect the outcome of Sunday’s game by putting their collective heads down and feeling sorry for themselves.

But that never happened.

Instead, IU refocused its attention on improving the little things that make a difference throughout a game, like feeding the ball into the post and limiting points off turnovers.

“We made it a big key to put them away, to keep playing to win and not playing for the time to run out,” sophomore Cody Zeller said. “I thought we did a nice job making those corrections and we grew up a lot today.”

IU’s success started in the paint with Zeller, senior Christian Watford and junior Victor Oladipo.

In the first half, the Hoosiers posted 20 points in the paint on their way to a 41-33 halftime lead.

From the opening tip, Zeller attacked Ohio State’s sophomore center Amir Williams, forcing Williams into foul trouble that would limit him to only 11 minutes for the game.

“Amir (Williams) going out early was a big blow to us defensively,” OSU Coach Thad Matta said. “He has the ability to alter a lot of shots inside and he has been playing well for us.”

As Williams sat on the bench in foul trouble throughout the second half, the Hoosiers’ big three took over.

With 16:28 left, the Buckeyes drew within four points of the Hoosiers at 43-39. During the next seven minutes, IU responded with a 19-7 run — punctuated with a “Wat Shot” three-pointer from Watford — that OSU could not come back from.

Overall, the trio of Zeller, Watford and Oladipo combined to score 70 of IU’s 81 points, while shooting 22-of-32 from the field.

“When there could have been opportunities for us to settle for jumpers, we didn’t, and when they got big buckets, we came back down and we matched it,” Crean said. “I think that gave us tremendous confidence in the first half.”

Every run OSU tried to make in the second half was greeted by quick responses and defensive stops from the Hoosiers that took away the energy of the crowd and OSU’s players.

“Offensive rebounds and put-backs and things like that really demoralize you when you play good defense and don’t finish it with a rebound or get a deflection to get the ball,” Ohio State junior Aaron Craft said. “They got every one of them and made big shots, and that kind of took the wind out of our sails.”

When a competitor like Aaron Craft says the wind was taken out of their sails, you know it’s likely IU put its foot on OSU’s throat.

“It was nothing in particular, it seemed like they played so well for a lot of the game,” Craft said. “They just kept their composure throughout.”

Beating the No. 10 Buckeyes on the road is important for a few reasons.

Dating back to last season, IU’s critics have always been quick to point out the Hoosiers’ lack of a quality road win.

This win over OSU gives IU its first true road victory over a highly ranked team during the Tom Crean era.

In fact, it is also IU’s first road win over an AP top-25 team since the Hoosiers defeated No. 13 Iowa on Jan. 13, 2002.

But the other reason why Sunday’s win is important is because for the first time this year, the Hoosiers proved they could bounce back from a devastating loss in a tough road environment.

In a crazy week for the college basketball world that saw the number one, two, three and five teams lose, it could have been easy for the Hoosiers to play shakily.

By playing a complete 40-minute game, IU silenced some of the rumors — if only for one night — that late-game collapses were becoming a regular occurrence for the Hoosiers.

 ­— mdnorman@indiana.edu