
The Ohio State Buckeyes have won four straight games as they roll into Assembly Hall. They struggled to get past Rutgers at home this week, and even though they sit at 12-2, we don’t know how good they are. The Indiana Hoosiers are coming off an 86-70 loss at Nebraska in a game they turned the ball over 19 times. The Hoosiers shot the ball well if you look at statistics, but the truth is the Hoosiers hit just 2 out of 8 three-point shots in the first half. They got hot from deep later in the game when it was already decided.
Indiana holds an overall record of 10-4 this season. The Hoosiers are responsible for 16.4 personal fouls per game while shooting 68.0% from the free throw line; their assist rate ranks 91st nationwide while they give up possession 12.8 times per contest. Indiana earned 1,062 points (75.9 per game), 35.9 rebounds per contest and an offensive connection rate of 49.2% from the field; ranking 28th nationally.
Indiana Hoosiers’ defense currently ranks 263rd nationally for points per game allowed (PPG), forcing 11.3 turnovers every game and allowing teams to shoot 42.0% from the floor (142nd nationally). Indiana allows 39% 3-point shooting (132 out of 378) while opponents are connecting on 73.5 percent of their free throw attempts; Indiana gives up 14.3 assists and 33.5 boards each game which ranks them 291st and 107th, respectively, among college hoops teams.
The Hoosiers’ defense has been bad, Coach Woodson has a reputation as a defensive coach but it’s hard to see why when you watch this team play. They struggle to play a complete 40 minutes and the intensity is not there on a lot of occasions. This is a home game and the Hoosiers seem to be a different team at home.
Ohio State enters this contest with an overall win-loss record of 12-2 this season, averaging 79.1 ppg (85th in college basketball) while shooting 45.7% from the field and 38.0% on shots from distance (119 of 313) as well as 74.9% from the charity stripe. As an overall team, they average 39.4 boards per game while earning 218 assists to rank 70th nationwide for passing the rock, losing possession 11.4 times per game but only committing 17.0 fouls daily compared with their opponent.
On defense, Ohio State is forcing their opponents into 12.4 turnovers per game while drawing 19.6 fouls each game. They allow 30.8% on 3-pointers and rank 59th among Division 1 schools for PPG allowed (65.4). They allow an opponent FG percentage of 40.9% (338 of 826) as well as 33.4 rebounds per contest as an opponent basketball team; ranking 19th out of 19 college hoops schools when it comes to giving out assists to opponents this season with 131 handed over thus far.
The Hoosiers are a different team at Assembly Hall, which makes this an interesting game to pick. The Hoosiers will have to bring a lot of energy to win this game as Ohio State always comes out with intensity. The Buckeyes schedule has not been great and the 12-2 record I think is a little over-inflated. Take the Hoosiers to cover.
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