Ohio State basketball handles Indiana 78-59, keeps adding to impressive NCAA Tournament resume

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State basketball did what you’d expected from the No. 4 team in the country against an unranked Indiana team flirting with a .500 record.

The Buckeyes’ 78-59 home win Saturday afternoon showcased a dominant team that’s clearly ready for postseason basketball.

Ohio State is 9-1 since Jan. 9, but several wins were far from perfect. There were still issues that could keep some from completely buying into the Buckeyes’ ceiling. Perhaps that high ranking was fool’s gold.

Beating Indiana demonstrated otherwise, with a performance that had few to no weaknesses to criticize.

The Buckeyes’ top three offensive weapons all reached double figures, led by E.J. Liddell with 19 points, 14 coming in the first half. Justice Sueing followed with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Duane Washington Jr. added 12 (10 in the first half).

They didn’t settle for a ton of 3-pointers and were efficient (7-of-16) with the ones they did take. A strong start resulted in a 27-11 lead with 7:20 left in the first half, and when the Hoosiers made bids to get back into the game, OSU repeatedly responded. Indiana got the second-half deficit down to 45-40 with 14:11 to play, but the Buckeyes ran off a 20-4 surge, ballooning the lead to 65-44 and ending the game’s suspense.

“I thought we wood good defensively in those segments and then I thought we had the ability to get the ball where we needed it offensively,” head coach Chris Holtmann said. “It started with there with our defense in trying to limit their effectiveness. ...It was important to try and limit their offensive efficiency in the second half and we did that in those stretches.”

Indiana led for a total of 2:52 in the first half. Its best player and leading scorer, Trayce Jackson-Davis, put together a solid outing with 23 points and nine rebounds. But only Jerome Hunter joined him in double figures with 10 points, despite four of five starters averaging at least 9.9 points coming into the game.

Ohio State’s improving defense was a major factor as well, holding the Hoosiers to 40.8 percent from the floor. It’s the seventh time in 10 games an opponent was held under 45 percent. The Buckeyes also scored 21 points off 15 Indiana turnovers.

This team is Final Four good. There’s a clear gap between Gonzaga and Baylor as the top two teams in the country and everyone else. But with every outing — especially with No. 3 Michigan playing Sunday for the first time since Jan. 22 — Ohio State further offers evidence of meriting a No. 1 regional seed next month.

“We’re just worried about the next game,” Sueing said. “The next week is going to be the most important week for us. ...We try not to focus on what’s too (far) ahead of us, like the tournament. We just continue to play and get better each and every day. Pushing each other.”

The Buckeyes have seemingly two sure wins left (Penn State, Michigan State) on their schedule. The other three are the Wolverines and rematches against Illinois and Iowa. Not the easiest way to close out a season for a team still chasing a regular-season title for the second time in the Chris Holtmann era.

Ohio State (17-4, 11-4 Big Ten) travels Thursday to the Bryce Jordan Center to face Penn State. The Buckeyes won the first meeting between the two at home 83-79 on Jan. 27. OSU hasn’t beaten the Nittany Lions on the road since Feb. 28, 2017.

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