The Hoosiers stay at home this Sunday and face the Buckeyes who are coming off of a nice two-game winning streak. IU will look to bounce back after a close home loss to the surging Iowa Hawkeyes.
After a significant win on the road against Michigan State, the Hoosiers failed to maintain momentum and fell to Iowa. Just when we thought this team could go on a solid winning streak, they fell short due to a few amazing three point shots by Jordan Bohannon. However, all is not lost as hopes to make the big dance in March still remain. This Sunday, the Buckeyes stand in the way, and they’re coming to Bloomington hot off of a two game winning streak.
Before going 3-1 in their last 4 games, the Buckeyes had lost five games in a row. And prior to their losing streak, they were ranked 14th in the country. Their recent victory over Penn State might be one of their biggest of the year.
In only 19 minutes, their leading scorer Kaleb Wesson fouled out. However, his brother Andre Wesson and C.J. Jackson took control and pulled through by a close margin of four points. In the game against Rutgers, Kaleb scored 27 points off 10-12 shooting in 38 minutes. With or without their star scorer, OSU can still find ways to compete and win, similar to how the Hoosiers defeated Michigan State without Juwan Morgan for the majority of the game.
Although OSU’s conference wins have come mostly against teams with losing conference records (the exception being Minnesota), they are a talented team with the capability of making big runs, a true statement for the larger portion of Big Ten teams this season.
Additionally, they are no joke when it comes to recruiting solid talent. They have two top 100 recruits from 2018 and have 3 more coming in 2019. Furthermore, they have 3 players that shoot above 39% from deep, which can be a problem for the Hoosiers as they’ve struggled to defend the three this year. Through solid guard play from C.J. Jackson and a strong inside presence in Kaleb Wesson, OSU can attack you from all areas of the court.
For the Hoosiers, the main focus should not necessarily be on their leading scorer. It is important to not fall behind early and maintain a lead at home with the crowd by your side. It may be more critical to prevent OSU from hitting outside shots, while giving Justin Smith, who had a great game defensively against Maryland’s Jalen Smith and Michigan State’s Nick Ward, and Juwan Morgan chances to guard Kaleb Wesson inside.