Just two steps past midcourt, Ohio State sent a double-team to trap freshman guard Khristian Lander. Instead of collecting himself and finding senior guard Al Durham sprinting to his rescue, Lander tried to split the double-team before losing control of the ball and throwing it away, leading to an easy fast break layup for the Buckeyes.
IU men’s basketball head coach Archie Miller’s hands flung up in the air as he yelled for Lander to dribble to the bench and call a timeout.
Miller has said throughout the season, 10 turnovers is the magic number for his team. If the Hoosiers can stay below that number, he feels good about their chances against any given team they’ll play.
Against Ohio State, IU blew past that number, turning the ball over 15 times in its 78-59 loss Saturday afternoon. In the first half, the Hoosiers had eight turnovers, leading to 12 Buckeyes points. Ohio State’s 21 points off turnovers was the difference in its 19-point victory.
In the closing minutes of the first half, IU clawed its way out of a 17-point deficit to get back within 5 points, seemingly salvaging a first half they’d like to forget. But then a flurry of careless turnovers undid much of the Hoosiers’ hard work.
“Early in the game, get down 17-4, it’s hard when you're playing a team that good,” Miller said. “I give our guys credit, we cut it to five but then there’s a couple tough turnovers there, at the end of the half, which put it to 10.”
When IU has played well this season, it has been when it’s taken care of the basketball. In the team’s two wins over Iowa, the Hoosiers were able to stay under the 10-turnover line, only giving the ball away eight times in the first meeting and nine times in the second.
In IU’s last three losses, the Hoosiers have 15 turnovers against Ohio State, 15 against Illinois and 12 against Rutgers. In IU’s double-overtime win Wednesday over Northwestern, they committed 13 turnovers in one of the team’s worst offensive showings of the season.
“If you look at the turnovers, 15, we're not going to be able to play with 15 turnovers,” Miller said.
The turnovers weren’t the only area that cost the Hoosiers against the Buckeyes.
IU’s lack of size and rebounding has been a concern since the preseason and once again was a mismatch the team couldn’t overcome.
The Buckeyes hammered the Hoosiers on the offensive glass, grabbing 12 offensive rebounds and leading to 20 second-chance points.
A big reason for Ohio State’s success on the offensive boards was due to Justice Sueing. The junior forward took advantage of IU’s smaller three-guard lineup and attacked the glass, grabbing five offensive rebounds.
Last week Miller said how important it was that everyone on the team, including the guards, be committed to helping out on the boards, but IU struggled to hold its ground and keep Ohio State from earning extra possessions.
As IU prepares to play Minnesota on Wednesday, it will need to continue forward with the progress it has made over the past few weeks taking care of the basketball and rebounding because they now know what a backslide can lead to.
“We're gonna have to play a lot more forceful on the backboard,” Miller said. “Blocking out and rebounding is something we talked about ad nauseum and today didn't have it.”
