The Hoosiers are two wins away from a share in the Big Ten regular season title for the first time since 2002. Coincidentally, the Hoosiers have two more home games left in the season before going to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan.
First up is Iowa on Saturday at 7:30pm on BTN. Indiana won the first game against Iowa 69-65 to open the Big Ten schedule. Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo combined for 33 points and 20 rebounds, while Will Sheehey chipped in 13, Christian Watford had 11, Yogi Ferrell scored 9, and Jordan Hulls dished out six assists. Iowa had three players score in double-figures: Aaron White with 15, Roy Devyn Marble with 14, and Mike Gesell with 13.
The Teams:
Unfortunately for Iowa, Gesell, the team's third-leading scorer, will not be able to play against the Hoosiers with a right foot injury. This makes the task of knocking off Indiana in Assembly Hall that much more difficult. Gesell was averaging nine points, three rebounds, and three assists per game before being injured. As a team, the Hawkeyes are scoring 71 points per game on 42% shooting while pulling down 39 rebounds and dishing out 15 assists. They also get to the free throw line at a decent clip (not quite one free throw attempt for every two field goal attempts), but this does not quite balance out their poor shooting (including 30% from beyond the arc). The Hawkeyes do have a Top-30 defense according to Ken Pomeroy's statistics, but their offense has been fairly terrible.
The Hoosiers, coming off a tough loss at Minnesota where they were horribly out-muscled, are putting up 82 points on 50% shooting at the same time as they get 39 rebounds and 15 assists. The Indiana offense is a well-oiled machine; they are first in Ken Pomeroy's efficiency ratings, are the best three-point shooting team (42.6%), are third-best at getting to the free throw line (almost one free throw attempt per every two field goal attempts), and have the eighth-highest offensive rebounding percentage (39.4%). The Hoosier defense is almost as good, ranking 18th in defensive efficiency and 17th in effective field goal percentage allowed (44%). The area which continues to be an issue for the Hoosiers is turnovers; they turn it over 13 times per game which is about 19% of their offensive possessions.
The Match-ups:
The two primary threats for Iowa are Marble and White, who create an interesting situation. Actually, the entire projected starting line-up creates an interesting situation; not one of the starters is under 6'5". This means that Jordy and Yogi will both be facing taller opponents, something which has not always worked well.
So, starting from the tall end and working down, Cody will be matched against freshman Adam Woodbury, who is 7'1". Woodbury is putting up not-quite five points and five rebounds per game, but does not draw fouls as you would expect of a big man and he hits fewer than 50% of his free throws. At the same time, he commits fouls at a very fast rate. This could cause the freshman some trouble, as Cody is one of the best in the country at drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line. Cody is also scoring 16 points and grabbing 8 rebounds per game. If Cody can force Woodbury to the bench with foul issues, his night will get significantly easier.
Next in order height-wise are Christian and White and Melsahn Basabe, and even though White is an inch taller, the more logical match-up for Christian would be Basabe. He scores 7 points and gets 4.5 boards per game and hits 51% of his shots. He is also not a threat from beyond the arc. He is a solid shot blocker and draws fouls at a decent rate. Christian is scoring 13 points and grabbing 6.5 rebounds per game, but the biggest difference is that he is definitely a threat from deep, hitting 49% of those shots. Christian is even better at drawing fouls than Basabe, and is able to get to the line more frequently (where he hits 82% of his attempts). Overall, Christian should do well in this match-up, especially coming off one of his worst performances of the season.
Coming next for the Hoosiers is Victor at 6'5", and he will likely be matched up with the taller White at 6'8". White is putting up almost 14 points per game while grabbing 6 rebounds. He is predominantly an inside player (he does not venture beyond the perimeter often and when he does he is not particularly successful). The thing that most stands out in his stats is his ability to draw fouls and get to the free throw line; he is the 10th best player in the country at drawing fouls (seven fouls per 40 minutes) and fourth-best in free throw rate (a ridiculous 92%, so almost one free throw attempt for every one field goal attempt). Victor is also averaging 14 points and 6 rebounds, but also dishes out 2 assists and gets 2 steals while hitting a conference-leading 63%. Victor is about average in committing fouls, which could be an issue against a player like White because Victor is so energetic and ambitious in the way he plays. At the same time, he is not shabby himself at drawing fouls, and if White could find himself in foul trouble early the Hoosiers would be much better off.
This is where things get sort of concerning. Both Yogi and Jordy are listed at 6'0", and the two remaining Hawkeyes are 6'6" (Marble) and 6'5" (Oglesby). As the better defender (and actually one of the better on-ball defenders in the conference), Yogi will likely be guarding Marble frequently. Marble averages 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists per game, and he draws fouls well at the same time as he does not commit them. Yogi averages 7 points, 3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists, and is very good at dishing to teammates and avoiding fouls. It'll be critical to avoid fouls as much as possible, especially against a player like Marble when he has a sizable height advantage. The final match-up pits Jordy and Oglesby against each other. Oglesby is not typically a starter and will likely take the spot of the injured Gesell (who is 6'1"). He averages 5 points and 2 rebounds per game, but shoots under 30% both field goal and from deep. Jordy is putting up 11 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3 assists per game, and hits 50% of his three-pointers. He is also the best on the team at avoiding fouls. These two match-ups will be critical for the Hoosiers if they expect to win, and it has the distinct possibility of being a long night for the two under-sized guards.
Final Thoughts:
I truly do not see the Hoosiers losing this game after being defeated so physically by Minnesota. The Hawkeyes like to run almost as much as the Hoosiers, but that game plan has not been particularly successful for opponents, especially within the hostile confines of Assembly Hall. If Iowa can hit their shots, this could be a close, fast-paced, high-scoring game. If they shoot their averages, the Hoosiers should be able to make them pay on the other end, continuing to run up the score.
Hoosier Highlights:
Christian: Christian has hit 153 three-pointers in his career, which ranks him 9th all-time for Indiana. To move into 8th with Damon Bailey, he needs to hit 13 more before the season is done. He has also hit 477 free throws in his career (3rd), but he would need to hit 58 more to move into second with Steve Alford. Christian has 732 rebounds in his career (12th) and only needs 5 more to move into 11th place with Jeff Newton and 16 to move into 9th with DJ White and Kirk Haston.
Jordy: Jordy has 1,278 points in his career (27th); up next is Tom Bolyard with 1,299. He also has 349 career assists (14th) and needs 7 to join Chris Reynolds and Isiah Thomas at 12th. He has 71 three-pointers on the season (10th), and only needs one to join Kyle Hornsby, AJ Guyton, and himself (last season) at 7th and four more to join Tom Coverdale in 6th.
Victor: Victor has 1,021 points in his career (44th), and needs 9 to join Harry "Butch" Joyner at 43rd and 17 to join Jay Edwards at 42nd. Victor also has 64 steals on the season (3rd) and needs one to join Quinn Buckner at 2nd and 10 to join Isiah Thomas at the top. In his career, Victor has 147 steals (5th) and needs one to join Alan Henderson at 4th and four to join Greg Graham at 3rd.
Cody: Cody has 1,020 points in his career (45th), and needs 10 to join Harry "Butch" Joyner at 43rd and Jay Edwards at 42nd (for my sanity's sake, I'm not worrying about Victor and Cody passing each other, as they will be close to each other all season). He also has made 151 free throws on the season, and he needs 15 to join Damon Bailey at 11th.
Yogi: Yogi has 122 assists on the season (3rd for any freshman) and he needs 7 to join AJ Guyton in 2nd for freshmen.
Who knows what the score could have been? The Hoosiers steamrolled the Boilermakers 83-55... and Victor Oladipo didn't play at all in the second half. After limping to the locker room just before half with a tweaked ankle, Victor took the unusual role of cheerleader for the final 17 minutes (he joined the bench about three minutes into the half). This was a wise decision by Coach Crean & Co., as Indiana never once lost control of this game.
This dominance, naturally, was done through the standout performance of Victor's fellow-junior buddy Will Sheehey. There's a reason this duo is nicknamed "Shee-ladipo;" it's hard to pinpoint where one stops and the other begins. In Victor's absence, Will had a career-high 22 points on the ridiculously efficient, school-record-setting 9-9 from the field, including two three-pointers. You read that right: school-record-setting 9-9 from the field. Of all the amazing players to don the candy stripes, names like Calbert Cheaney, Steve Alford, Damon Bailey, and Isiah Thomas come to mind, Will is the only player to hit all nine of his shots in one game. That's some pretty good company right there.
The remainder of the Hoosier's starting line-up were their usual dominant selves. Cody Zeller managed to quietly put up 19 points and nine rebounds, and Jordan Hulls scored 11 on 3-6 shooting from deep and chipped in five assists. Yogi Ferrell, who comes in at maybe 6'0", pulled down six rebounds to go with his five assists. Christian Watford scored 14 points, including the team's first eight, while effectively shutting down A.J. Hammonds. And while he only played 14 minutes, Victor did manage to pull down five boards.
Now the road for the Hoosiers gets pretty rough. They travel to East Lansing to face Michigan State on Tuesday at 7pm on ESPN. The game will be called by Dick Vitale and Magic Johnson as he returns to his school for his first experience in in-game commentating.
The Teams:
The Hoosiers won the first game at Assembly Hall at the end of January. Indiana was able to force guard Keith Appling on the bench for 21 minutes, limiting him to three points, no assists, and four turnovers before fouling out. The odds of that happening again are pretty slim, especially at the Breslin Center. Another thing that is unlikely to happen again is the Spartans going 11-23 from deep; they average five made three-pointers per game. Gary Harris hit five threes, and Adreian Payne, who had five made three-pointers in his career going into the game, hit three of them in the game at Assembly Hall. I also don't see Michigan State going to the line only six times as a team like they did at Assembly Hall. Cody on his own shot as many free throws as the Spartans as a team.
The Spartans are putting up 70 points per game, and Ken Pomeroy has them in the top 20 offenses in the country and top 15 defenses. They average about 38 rebounds and 14 assists per game, and are hitting 47% of their field goals. They also get to the free throw line at a decent rate (more than once for every three field goal attempts).
In contrast, the Hoosiers are the second-highest scoring offense in the country at 83 points per game. According to the same Ken Pomeroy statistics, Indiana has the top ranked offense and 12th ranked defense. The Hoosiers are grabbing 39 rebounds and dishing out 15 assists per game, and hit 50% of their field goals (good for 4th in the country). Indiana gets to the free throw line at an even better rate than Michigan State, almost once for every two field goal attempts.
The Match-ups
These match-ups could be a little different this time around depending upon how Victor's ankle is holding up and how much Coach Crean is willing to push him. In the first game, Victor was dominant, scoring 21 points, grabbing seven rebounds and six steals, and swatting away three blocks. One of the keys will be shutting down Harris, who scored 21 in Assembly Hall while not turning it over at all. There are several different options for guarding Harris depending upon who is in the line-up for both teams. One option would be to have Vic guard him and take the chance of putting Jordy on Branden Dawson, who is 6'6". The plus side to that is that Dawson is not particularly dangerous from outside so as long as Jordy could keep Dawson in front of him, this tactic could have some success. Another option would be to have Jordy stick to Harris like glue. Harris has been shooting primarily from deep since the first game, and Jordy has been doing a solid job of getting through picks and runs through the post meaning he could do a decent job of both preventing him from getting the ball in position to shoot and from getting the shot off. Whichever way the Hoosiers go, Harris needs to be contained to keep him from going off for five three-pointers again.
Cody and Christian will have their own battles in the post with Payne and Derrick Nix. Payne had 18 in the previous match-up, but as previously mentioned he hit an exceedingly uncharacteristic three shots from deep. He does a decent job of drawing fouls, but he commits them even more, although he was one of only two in the Spartan's starting line-up who wasn't in foul trouble against Indiana the first time around. Nix does an even better job of drawing fouls, but he can also be coerced into getting himself into foul trouble. While he has bulk on both Cody and Christian, both of them have an edge in speed, which makes it easier for a guy like Nix to find himself sitting on the bench early with foul trouble. As mentioned before pretty much every game, Cody is one of the best in the nation at drawing fouls and getting to the line, and this could be especially critical in East Lansing. What is interesting is that Christian is starting to catch-up to Cody in this category and has now passed up Victor to move to second on the team. This has come thanks to an increased aggressiveness on Christian's part, something that Hoosier Nation is very excited to see. If Christian and Cody can keep this up, it could be a long night for the Spartan big men.
It will be interesting to see how Appling rebounds in this game. The junior has been putting up good numbers since that late January game, but there is always the human element that must be taken into account. There is the chance that he could come out over-aggressive in trying to prove himself, which could land his butt on the bench if he isn't careful. There is also the possibility that he comes out hesitantly in an effort to show that his foul trouble and sloppy play were exceptions to the rule, which could make him both softer on defense and less likely to make hard drives to the basket on offense. Appling, however, is a seasoned veteran of a Tom Izzo squad, and I do not see either of those possibilities actually happen. I foresee Yogi having his hands full all night, but I also see him holding up to the pressure.
Final Thoughts:
This game is a toss-up. It could easily go either way. This has the potential to be one of the best games this season; the Big Ten outright title is on the line and a number one seed in the tourney (particularly the advantageously-located Indianapolis regional) is up for grabs. If the Hoosiers could win this, it would also be the first time since 1991 that the Hoosiers get a win in East Lansing.
The two biggest factors in this game for both teams are turnovers and free throws. The Hoosiers and Spartans combined for 34 turnovers, and each team continues to average pretty high turnover rates. But in a game like this every possession counts, and the team that can hold onto the ball the most will have a big advantage in this contest. Free throws, especially late, could also be the difference in this game. The Hoosiers tend to get to the line more frequently and hit a higher percentage on those shots, but the hostile environment of the Breslin Center could make anything possible.
Hoosier Highlights:
Jordan Hulls - Jordy's 11 points against Purdue put him at 1,249 in his career, passing up Dick Van Arsdale. Next on the list is twin brother Tom Van Arsdale with 1,252 points.
Cody Zeller - Cody is now up to 994 points in his career, six away from 1,000.
Victor Oladipo - Victor has 986 points in his career, 14 away from the 1,000-point club. He also has 59 steals on the season (4th all-time for the Hoosiers), and is three steals away from joining Isiah Thomas in third. Victor also has 142 steals in his career (5th place) and needs six steals to join Alan Henderson in fourth place.
Image from iuhoosiers.com
So as expected, the Hoosiers pulled off the big win 76-47 after an exceedingly slow start. Led by Cody Zeller with 16 points, three Hoosiers scored in double-digits with three more within two points. Senior Christian Watford also pulled down 11 rebounds to go with his 13 points, and Victor Oladipo came close to the double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds. But this game was not always as certain as the final score would make it seem.
In the first half, Nebraska ran their defense almost to perfection, holding the Hoosiers to 27 points on 32% field goal shooting and 29% three-point. The one thing the Cornhuskers just couldn't quite master was avoiding fouls. Both Brandon Ubel and Andre Almeida committed 3 fouls in the first 20 minutes, severely shortening the Nebraska lineup. All of these fouls resulted in the Hoosiers going to the line 16 times, hitting 13 of them. It didn't, however, cause as much trouble as it should have, as Cody was saddled with his own foul troubles as well, playing only 18 minutes in the entire game.
As well as Nebraska played on defense in the first half, they couldn't get anything going on the offensive side, scoring only 18 points. They shot a decent-for-opponents-at-Assembly-Hall 42%, but went 0-8 from three point land. They also only went to the free throw line four times. What really caused the Cornhuskers to struggle was their 10 turnovers at the half, which is about how many times they give the ball up in the entire game, and they just weren't able to ever get into sync.
The second half was all Indiana. The Hoosiers poured in 49 points, scoring more in the half than Nebraska did in the entire game. A big part of this came from some incredible three-point shooting, hitting 6-9 from deep. They also got to the free throw line another 13 times, hitting 11, while only sending Nebraska seven times. After scoring only three first-half points, Cody was able to add 13 in the second half. Most importantly, the Hoosiers played with much more energy in the second half and looked much more like the top team in the country. As long as they can continue to play like that, they will be tough to beat.
A byproduct of such a great second half was that many of IU's role players were able to get some good minutes. Will Sheehey, who averages starter's minutes anyway, nine points and four rebounds. Mo Creek hit his first three-pointer since the beginning of January and pulled down two rebounds in his 13 minutes. Remy Abell was also able to break out of his shooting slump, scoring six points in 12 minutes. Derek Elston and Jeremy Hollowell each also contributed valuable time, playing almost 10 minutes. Even when they were not on the court, the benchmob found a fun way to get involved.
The first half of the IU vs Nebraska game was another example of the Hoosiers playing down to the level of their competition, but the second half was a show of what can happen when this team plays at its usual level. The positive note is that many of the remaining games for the Hoosiers are against high-level opponents, hopefully meaning they should play at their best.
Hoosier Highlights:
Jordy - Jordy scored 8 points against Nebraska, putting him at 1,238 in his career. He is now two points away from Dick Van Arsdale and 14 away from Tom Van Arsdale.
Cody - Cody's 16 points put him at 975 in his career and only 25 from 1,000.
Victor - Vic's 13 points put him at 983 in his career, putting him 17 away from the 1,000-point club. He also grabbed 3 steals, giving him 59 on the season and moving him into 4th place on the all-time Hoosier season list. He needs three steals to move into 3rd place with Isiah Thomas. Vic is also up to 142 steals in his career, which puts him in 5th place all-time with Mike Woodson. He needs six steals to move into 4th place with Alan Henderson.
Image from iuhoosiers.com
I was going to do a post-game write-up after the Illinois game, but I still cannot be completely rational and objective about it, so it's just not going to happen. Suffice it to say that it should not be possible for a team that leads in field goal percentage, free throw rate, and rebounds to lose without some outside help (even with 14 turnovers). To put it in perspective, IU had two more turnovers against then-#1-ranked Michigan and still pulled it off (Michigan only turned the ball over 8 times and the Illini turned it over 9 times). To say that the technical foul on Will (which ended up being worth 4 points for the Illini) was bogus is just about the understatement of the season (coming just behind "Cody is tall" and "Victor can jump").
But that game is in the past, and the Hoosiers now need to focus on tomorrow's game at Ohio State. I'm hoping the above image (from The Hoosier Scoop) is characteristic of what will happen: Victor dominating in exciting fashion while Deshaun Thomas and Aaron Craft are unable to do anything but stand by and watch helplessly. The game is at 1pm on CBS and is being called by Kevin Harlan and Clark Kellogg. Ken Pomeroy favors the Hoosiers by a single point with a 52% probability of an IU win. Which in normal-speak means nobody has any idea how this game will end. Both teams are coming off of tough losses, IU losing by a buzzer-beating layup at Illinois Thursday and OSU losing by two in overtime at Michigan. Currently (prior to the Michigan State vs Purdue game), the Hoosiers and Spartans are once again tied at the top of the conference with Michigan and Wisconsin tied half a game back and Ohio State next at one game back. It is now becoming more and more possible for the eventual conference winner to end with a conference record of 14-4, and it is more than possible for multiple teams to take a share of the title. It has also become possible (but not guaranteed) that the Big Ten could be represented by seven teams in the NCAA Tourney (the above-named teams plus Minnesota and maybe Illinois).
As you can see, this game has a lot of implications (another pretty big understatement). The last time the Hoosiers knocked off the Buckeyes in Columbus was in February of 2008, led by DJ White's double-double and Eric Gordon's 15 points. That game, however, is one of only two games that the Hoosiers have won in Columbus since the 2001-2002 season.
These two teams offer an interesting overall match-up. The Hoosiers are ahead in many of the major categories (points per game, rebounds per game, assists per game, and field goal percentage), but the numbers are very close across the board. The Buckeyes are hitting about 37% of their three-pointers, however that does not seem to matter much when teams are playing the Hoosiers (the Illini were hitting about 25% of their deep shots but connected on 38% in order to top IU). Even the average turnovers per game aren't all that different, with the Buckeyes turning it over 11 times per game to the Hoosiers' 13.
If there weren't many high-level individual match-ups in the Illinois game, there are many against Ohio State. Once again, Victor highlights the match-up of match-ups, likely squaring off against Ohio State's do-it-all junior Deshaun Thomas, a Ft. Wayne, Indiana native. The 6'7" Thomas is averaging almost 20 points and 6 rebounds per game, even if his shooting percentages are pretty low (field goal of 46.4% and three-point of 40%). The one shooting percentage at which he excels is free throw, where he hits 82% of his attempts. At the same time, however, he is not typically particularly good at getting to the line (only once for every four field goal attempts). As is required by his team, Thomas does not go to the bench often, playing 35 minutes per game, and using more possessions than anyone on either team. Even with that, he doesn't turn the ball over all that often, and is actually in the top 40 in the nation at not turning the ball over. Victor should be a formidable foe for Thomas. Despite a 2-3 inch height difference, Victor should be athletic enough to keep up with Thomas whether he chooses to go out to the perimeter or battle it out in the post. Surprisingly enough for a guard, Victor posts a block rate of 3% (compare that to Cody's rate of 4.8% despite the 7 inch height difference), which should come in handy when Thomas decides to shoot closer to the basket. Probably more importantly is that Victor ranks 21st in steal percentage, meaning that something has got to give between his ability to steal and Thomas' tendency to hold onto the ball. Victor's work (along with Will's, Jeremy's, and possibly Christian's) on Thomas will be key because if he can be shut down there's only one other Buckeye averaging double-digit points (Lenzelle Smith Jr.). I also don't necessarily see Thomas guarding Victor in return, as the bigger Buckeye body will most likely need to go up against Christian, and I also don't see anyone being able to match-up enough with Victor on the offensive end.
Another premier match-up will be Yogi versus Aaron Craft. Both are very good point guards, however Craft is better known for his lock-down defense (he was last season's Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year). On a side-note, while Victor most likely will not guard him often, this game could go a long way in determining which elite-level defender (Victor or Craft) will earn this season's Big Ten DPOY and possibly the national award as well. On the offensive end, Craft's numbers have not been all that impressive. He's getting just over nine points per game on 38.5% field goal and 31% three-point. He is averaging 4.5 assists to 2 turnovers, and he actually has a higher free throw rate than Thomas, going to the charity stripe once for every three field goal attempts. Defense, however, is how Craft earns his scholarship and he is considered one of, if not the, best on-ball defender in the country. He averages 2 steals a game while also not fouling very often. Yogi, even as a freshman, has shown significant improvement both on offense and defense. He's averaging almost 8 points a game, along with 4.5 assists to 2.2 turnovers. He hits 40% of his field goals and 35% of his three-pointers, and manages to get to the free throw line almost once for every two field goal attempts. Against Michigan, Yogi did a solid job of defending arguably the best point guard in the nation in Trey Burke, and even though Burke scored 25 points it took him an uncharacteristically inefficient 24 shots to do it. What this comes down to is two of the league's best point guards squaring off, and while Craft may have an edge defensively, I think that Yogi is a well-rounded enough player to at least hold his own.
The final potentially high-level match-up is that of Cody and the 6'11" 250 pound Amir Williams, who is averaging 4.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. This is an important match-up in that Williams is the only Buckeye over 6'8". While Williams may draw fouls at a very high rate, he commits them at an even higher rate. Add to this that Cody is one of the best in the nation at drawing fouls (19th) and getting to the free throw line (12th), and it could be a long night for both Williams and his 6'8" big-man-buddy Evan Ravenel, who commits fouls at about the same rate as Williams. Cody is averaging 16 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, and he also gets to the line around 3 times for every 4 field goal attempts, hitting 75% of those free throws. At the same time as he can draw fouls, he also refrains from committing them, fouling not quite 3 times per 40 minutes. While Williams (and Ravenel) may both have more muscle than he does, Cody is also the best running big man in the country. If Cody can exploit that extra speed and agility, he should make life miserable for both Williams and Ravenel. If he doesn't play to that strength, however, it could be a long night in which Cody gets out-physicalled down low. While that does not seem likely, especially looking at the clinic he put on against the similarly-built Mitch McGary in the Michigan game, it is probably something on which the Buckeyes will try to focus.
The biggest potential problem-match-up I foresee is that of Jordy and Lenzelle Smith, Jr. The 6'4" Smith is averaging 10.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while hitting 41.5% of his three-pointers. While this would be a height mismatch whether guarded by Jordy or Yogi, Jordy tends to have difficulty guarding guards who are taller than he is, and Smith has about four inches on him. This does not mean that Jordy cannot do it, it simply means that he's going to have to work very hard in order to be successful.
It should be interesting to see how the Hoosier role players respond in this game. Despite the previously-mentioned technical foul, Will put up solid numbers against Illinois, scoring 13 points on 6-11 shooting while grabbing 2 boards and a steal and dishing out an assist while having no turnovers. Jeremy once again also contributed valuable minutes, scoring 6 points in 9 minutes and going 2-2 from three-point land (his first made three-pointers since the Coppin State game on December 1). He also had two assists and no turnovers. I'd like to see Derek and Mo get more time in as the continue to recover from their injuries, yet they are maintaining very minimal minutes. It is also going to be important to get Remy's confidence back up as he continues to struggle at times on the court.
This is going to be a very good game by two teams who desperately want to rebound from tough losses. The Hoosiers have had the tendency to play their best ball when up against their best competition (and also to play down to the level of their lesser opponents), and there are few teams in the country who are better than the Buckeyes, particularly when they are in Columbus. As long as the Hoosiers can hold onto the ball down the stretch and decently contain Thomas they should be able to pull off this win. But as I said earlier, nobody has any idea which way this game will go.
Despite some bumps in the road, there are a few Hoosier highlights which deserve recognition and praise. Christian, the active Big Ten leading career scorer, is up to 1,583 points in his career, and only needs 7 points to tie Greg Graham for 12th place all-time for Indiana and 10 points to tie Scott May at number 11. In the loss to Illinois, Yogi became the fourth Hoosier freshman to make 100 assists, and he passed recent-graduate Verdell Jones III to take 3rd place on the list. While this won't happen in the upcoming game (or the next couple games), Victor and Cody are only 56 points and 65 points away, respectively, from joining Jordy and Christian in the 1,000-point club, and both of them could do it within the remainder of the season. Victor also currently has 54 steals on the season, which is good for a tie at 6th with Jared Jeffries for number of steals in a single season, and if he's able to grab 20 more he will be tied with Isiah Thomas at the top. He has 137 steals in his career so far, which is also god for a tie at 6th with Tom Coverdale, and it's not out of the realm of possibility for him to move to the top with Dane Fife if he stays in the candy stripes next season.
