Indiana basketball’s late run is not enough as they fall to the Ohio State Buckeyes, 79-75 in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Wow. That was about as crazy of a game as it gets. Out of the gates, Ohio State dominated play leading for most of the entirety of the game.
The Hoosiers played some of their most sloppy basketball all season, finishing with 17 turnovers, while Kaleb Wesson, 17 points and 13 rebounds, and company steam rolled their way to a 20 point lead with seven minutes left in the game.
However, to everyone’s surprise, Devonte Green had the offensive performance of a lifetime, single handedly carrying the team throughout the game, finishing with a career-high 26 points on 8-of-10 from deep. Whenever the Hoosiers needed a run or needed to stop, he was there.
When it looked like the Hoosiers were all but done, they used a 26-9 run to cut the game back to single digits, even as close as three points, before a mistimed steal from Al Durham and a brutal offensive foul call on Evan Fitzner sealed the game, as Indiana fell 79-75.
Fitzner and De’Ron Davis both contributed to the run, finishing with eight and nine points respectively as the bench totaled 43 points, bailing out the starters.
Two players who were critical in the recent success, Rob Phinisee and Justin Smith combined for just two points on 1-for-11 shooting.
Romeo Langford finished with nine points on 4-of-12 shooting, while Juwan Morgan added 12 points and seven rebounds, but sat out nearly the last seven minutes of the game for an undisclosed reason.
Keyshawn Woods was critical for the Buckeyes, making big shots down the stretch as he finished with a team-high 18 points. C.J. Jackson added 17 points as well.
The Hoosiers dug themselves in too big of a hole to pull out a must needed win and their tournament hopes are about as slim as it gets.