Indiana men’s basketball (13-5, 4-3 Big Ten) will play its third game in less than a week when it faces Ohio State (10-7, 2-4 Big Ten) at 8 p.m. Friday inside Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
The Hoosiers hope the third time will be the charm, as they’ve lost each of their past two games by 25 points — an 85-60 loss to Iowa on Jan. 11 and a 94-69 thumping from Illinois on Tuesday.
Ohio State enters Friday on a two-game losing streak of its own, but the Buckeyes’ defeats came by a combined 4 points against No. 13 Oregon on Jan. 9 and No. 24 Wisconsin on Tuesday.
Indiana and Ohio State have met an even 200 times, with the Hoosiers owning a 112-88 advantage and four wins in their last five tries. Indiana swept the season series in 2024.
Meet the Buckeyes
After finishing 8-3 in his end-of-season stint as head coach in place of the fired Chris Holtmann, Jake Diebler shook the interim tag last spring for the Buckeyes. His first full campaign at the helm includes four nonconference wins by 30-plus points and three others — including No. 8 University of Kentucky — by 20 or more points.
But Ohio State has also experienced several lopsided defeats. The Buckeyes lost by 38 points to No. 1 Auburn University on Dec. 14, by 24 points at Maryland on Dec. 4 and by 14 points at No. 11 Texas A&M University on Nov. 15. Ohio State’s other four losses have been by 7 or fewer points and three have been by one possession.
Junior guard Bruce Thornton steers the proverbial ship for the Buckeyes, ranking ninth in the Big Ten with 17.2 points per game while leading the team with 4.4 assists per contest.
Ohio State has three others averaging double figures, as sophomore forward Devin Royal scores 13.8 points per game while freshman guard John Mobley Jr. and senior forward Micah Parrish add 11.9 and 10 points per game, respectively.
Royal stands only 6-foot-6, but he leads the Buckeyes in rebounding, pulling down 7.4 boards per game. Sean Stewart, a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward, is the team’s tallest starter. Stewart averages 6.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest.
Ohio State shoots 37.4% on 3-pointers, the fourth-best mark in the conference, though it’s tied with Rutgers for 10th in total 3-point attempts with 361. Thornton and Mobley rank 15th and 16th in individual 3-point shooting percentage across the Big Ten, as Thornton hits 43.3% of his triples while Mobley is a 43% shooter from distance.
The Buckeyes rank eighth in the conference in total offense, scoring 80.4 points per game, and 12th in total defense, allowing 71.1 points per contest.
With its high nonconference margin of victory and difficult overall schedule, Ohio State ranks No. 31 in the NET — meaning the Buckeyes give the Hoosiers their third consecutive Quad 1 opportunity and a shot at their best win this season.
Ballo’s status
Indiana sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo won’t face any disciplinary action from the Big Ten after he was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul late in the Hoosiers’ loss to Illinois on Tuesday, according to the Indianapolis Star. Ballo shoved Illinois sophomore center Tomislav Ivisic in a scuffle between the two sides, and Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame he hoped to have Ballo available against Ohio State.
Ballo, who’s tied with junior forward Malik Reneau for the team lead in scoring at 14.1 points per game, also leads the team with 10.1 rebounds per game. He’s recorded four double doubles in his last five games.
Broadcast
Friday night’s contest will be televised nationally on Fox, with Gus Johnson handling play-by-play duties alongside analyst Jim Jackson.
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa) and columnist Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
