COLUMBUS — Indiana basketball didn’t bring the sense of urgency it needed to Columbus on Saturday afternoon.
In a battle of bubble teams, the Hoosiers (18-13, 9-11 Big Ten) were outclassed in a 91-78 loss to Ohio State that put their NCAA Tournament hopes on life support. They will likely need to win at least two (probably three) games in next week’s Big Ten Tourney to get back in the March Madness picture, after dropping five of six to close out the regular season.
Indiana lost four of those games by double-digits.
The Buckeyes (20-11, 12-8) ended a five-game losing streak in the series that dated back to former IU coach Mike Woodson’s first season.
Indiana basketball throws the kitchen sink at Ohio State in second half
Indiana fans that made the trip out to Value City Arena got a glimpse of a rare sight with coach Darian DeVries playing a two-big lineup in the second half that featured Sam Alexis and Reed Bailey. The Hoosiers also trotted out a full-court press during that stretch while looking for a spark.
After Ohio State's leads ballooned to 24 points coming out of halftime, IU coach Darian DeVries didn't leave any stone unturned.
Tayton Conerway, who had become a little-used reserve in recent weeks, checked into the game less than 90 seconds into the second half with the Hoosiers trying to put some pressure on Ohio State's defense. Conerway is one of the few players on Indiana's roster able to burn opposing teams off the dribble.
He was limited to a pair of free-throws, but DeVries kept tinkering after that to find the right combination.
Indiana cut OSU's lead to 10 points with less than four minutes to go, but the secret sauce to the mini-run was mostly Lamar Wilkerson (18 points) and Tucker DeVries (17 points) knocking down a handful of shots and the Hoosiers finally stringing together a couple of stops.
It was just a little too late.
When Devin Royal was fouled knocking down a 3-pointer with 3:01 to go, he waved goodbye to the Hoosiers while still lying down on the floor.
Defense optional? Indiana basketball doesn’t put up much of a fight in the first half
Ohio State averaged 1.56 points per possession in the first half while shooting 67.9% from the field and 8 of 13 from 3-point range. The Buckeyes only missed one shot attempt over the final seven minutes of the half.
Indiana struggled in every way imaginable.
Ohio State guard John Mobley Jr. had a crossover at the top of the key that nearly knocked Jasai Miles off his feet. Miles recovered only to foul Mobley on a made 3-pointer and allowed him to complete a 4-point play.
Freshman forward Amare Bynum, who scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half, flashed an impressive inside-outside game while going to work on Reed Bailey. He also posterized Tucker DeVries in the half with a one-handed slam that drew a huge ovation from the home crowd.
The first half came to a close with Bruce Thornton knocking down a 3-pointer to break the school’s all-time career scoring record and put his team up 50-33. Thornton, who came into game 0-5 against the Hoosiers, had a game-high 25 points and seven assists.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana basketball closes out regular season with ugly loss to Ohio State