Ohio State 67, Indiana 58
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Ohio State spoiled the final home game for three Indiana seniors and kept its hopes alive for a share of the Big Ten title.
The No. 14 Buckeyes did it with a 67-58 win Tuesday night over second-ranked Indiana. The Buckeyes have won at least a share of the regular season title in each of the past three seasons.
Deshaun Thomas led Ohio State (22-7, 12-5) with 18 points and eight rebounds. Aaron Craft contributed 15 points, four assists, four rebounds and four steals. The Buckeyes shot 45.8 percent from the field, committed just eight turnovers and outrebounded Indiana 37-32.
Thomas and Craft scored all the points in a 7-0 run that made it 59-50 with 4:15 remaining, causing Hoosiers coach Tom Crean to call a timeout. Indiana (25-5, 13-4) would never recover.
Indiana started the second half by making its first five shots but slumped on offense most of the night against the tough defense of the Buckeyes, who entered the game allowing just 58.9 points per game, second-best in the conference. The Hoosiers shot 39.6 percent from the field, scored just two points in transition and committed 12 turnovers leading to 16 Ohio State points.
Oladipo sat the final 11 minutes of the first half with two fouls and Cody Zeller didn't return after picking up his second personal with just under six minutes remaining.
Ohio State succeeded without Zeller and Oladipo on the floor, outscoring the Hoosiers 9-3 in the final 5:47 of the half to build a 28-25 lead. The Buckeyes held Indiana to 10 field goals on 30 shots, which led to the Hoosiers' lowest-scoring half of the season. In their last home game, three days earlier, the Hoosiers scored 26 points in the first half in a 73-60 win over Iowa.
Zeller's step-back jumper against Evan Ravenel put the Hoosiers in front 19-17. After Ravenel tied the score with a rebound and dunk on the next possession, Creek answered with a 3-pointer for Indiana that made it 22-19. Then the Buckeyes, with just a 4-5 road record coming into the game, found a rhythm, scoring seven straight points, capped by Aaron Craft's three-point play in transition.
NOTES: Former Hoosiers Steve Alford, Kent Benson, Scott May, Keith Smart and Isiah Thomas were recognized at halftime. They were chosen by the NCAA, on the 75th anniversary of the NCAA tournament, as all-time players in the event's history. ... Ohio State last beat a top-two team on the road on Jan. 24, 1987. ... The 1992-93 Hoosiers won their 26th game on March 4, one day before this year's Hoosiers could reach that mark. ... Thomas passed David Lighty for 20th place on Ohio State's career scoring list.
