Indiana Basketball: Hoosiers win over Ohio State a step in the right direction
By Adam Childs
The Indiana basketball team pulled off an upset win over Ohio State on Saturday. It was a big win for the Hoosiers in their fight to make the NCAA tournament.
The Hoosiers came into Saturday’s game looking for answers. Who is their go-to scorer? Why do they seem uninterested at times? Could they really keep playing so poorly in the second half?
While there are still some questions to be answered, Saturday was a step in the right direction. Rob Phinisee showed he could get in a rhythm early as he hit his first three shots from deep. Devonte Green had another great game off the bench, showing that maybe that might be the right role for him. The Hoosiers also showed they could win a game win Trayce Jackson-Davis has an off night.
Those were all great things to learn, but the most encouraging part of the game would have to be the effort put forth by the whole team. The Hoosiers have looked disinterested too often this year and that has led to some very poor play and has ultimately cost them some games. You could question some things about the game, but effort against the Buckeyes was not one of them.
The Hoosiers came out on fire as they built up as much as a nine-point lead early. But it didn’t stay that way as Indiana didn’t hit a field goal for the last ten minutes in the first half. They saw the lead completely slip away and went into the break down three. But it could have been worse. The effort they continued to show on the defensive side of the ball kept them in the game when their shots weren’t falling.
That defensive effort carried through into the second half as the Hoosiers only gave up 20 points while scoring 35 of their own for a fairly comfortable win. The second half was a far cry from their last four games when it looked like they forgot that a game was two halves.
This game didn’t cure everything that is ailing the Hoosiers, but for one afternoon it looked like they finally wanted to be out there for a full game. Ohio State has now lost four in a row, but make no mistake this was a big win for the Hoosiers and will be great on the resume come March.
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Indiana needed a big win and they got it on Saturday, but now comes a brutal stretch of games. Besides their game at Nebraska, there is a very real possibility they aren’t favored in a game for a month. But with as crazy as the Big Ten has been they should be able to compete in every game if not have a chance to win.
The Hoosiers have a long way to go if they want to make the tournament, but if Saturday is any indication of how they are going to play they should be just fine.