Indiana Basketball vs Ohio State: 3 keys to game

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BLOOMINGTON, IN – JANUARY 11: Andre Wesson #24 of the Ohio State Buckeyes dribbles the ball around Justin Smith #3 of the Indiana Hoosiers during the second half at Assembly Hall on January 11, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

2. Force OSU off of the three-point line

The Hoosiers saw how difficult it is to knock off a quality team when they are hitting threes, as seen by the 12 threes that Maryland hit, finishing off the game making at a 41.4 percent clip.

For Ohio State, 43 percent of its field goal attempts on the season have come from behind the arc, making 38 percent of them.

In the first matchup, Ohio State did make nine threes but also took 26 attempts, being very ineffective from three. In fact, in Ohio State’s seven losses this year, they are shooting just 32.5 percent from three.

With six players shooting over 35 percent from three on the season, it is imperative that the Hoosiers make life difficult from the outside and force the Buckeyes into two-point attempts. While they can still beat you from the inside with Kaleb Wesson, the likes of Joey Brunk, Trayce Jackson-Davis, and De’Ron Davis did a terrific job holding Wesson to just 3-of-11 shooting in the first matchup, including 1-of-7 from inside the paint.

Because Indiana is one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the entire country, if the Buckeyes get off to a hot start from deep, it could be game over before the Hoosiers even get settled in.

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