Ohio State dropped a 59-53 decision to No. 13/14 Indiana Sunday in Value City Arena. Kosta Koufos had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Buckeyes, now 16-8 on the season.

Jon Diebler added 14 points for Ohio State as the Buckeyes fell to 7-4 in league play. Indiana, which was led by D.J.White's 21 points and 13 rebounds, is now 20-3 overall and 9-1 in the Big Ten. Eric Gordon hit a number of big shots to lead the Hoosiers past Ohio State.

It was the first red-letter win for the Hoosiers - much maligned for their light schedule - against a team higher than No. 49 in the RPI ratings. The Buckeyes came in at No. 32.

Gordon finished with 15 points, hitting four free throws in the final minute to keep Ohio State at bay.

Jordan Crawford contributed seven assists without a turnover and also had six rebounds to go with eight points for the Hoosiers, who won their third in a row and remained in a tie for the conference lead.

Ohio State, in dire need of a marquee win of its own to prop up its NCAA tournament hopes, was its own worst enemy. The Buckeyes had three air-ball 3-pointers down the stretch - all by freshmen - after they had pared a 12-point deficit to six or fewer points in the waning moments.

Jamar Butler, fifth in the Big Ten in scoring (Gordon is first, White second) coming in, was limited to four points on 2-of-8 shooting. He did have six assists, but misfired on all five of his shots behind the arc.

Indiana 59 (20-3, 9-1 Big Ten), Ohio State 53 (16-8, 7-4 Big Ten)
Feb. 10, 2008
Value City Arena (19,049)
Columbus, Ohio

Postgame Quotes

Thad Matta, Ohio State head coach

On the game

“We just didn’t have what we needed against a team like Indiana. They are a great team. We weren’t capable of making plays that we needed to make. We played better the second half but it wasn’t enough.”

On Jon Diebler

“Jon is finding a rhythm on the offensive end. He is moving well without the ball. He’s been setting his feet better and has been more aggressive.”

On DJ White

“I felt that the second half we were more aggressive while guarding him. He had good position and did a great job finishing. He had the energy back like I had seen when we he was a freshman.”
 
Kosta Koufos, freshman center

On trying to contain Indiana’s D.J. White

“D.J (White) is a tremendous player. He’s a senior and a leader on that team and I give him all the credit in the world for coming out here tonight and doing what he did. He’s a strong player so in the future we just have to come harder at big guys like that.”

On the rebounding battle

“Indiana is a great rebounding team. There were times tonight where I was out of position and I got boxed out of some rebounding opportunities. If we can grab those boards we’ll get more points in the transition game.”

Jon Diebler, freshman guard

On attacking the Indiana zone

“It seemed like tonight we were just a little bit tentative and unsure of ourselves when we got penetration into the zone. When you face a great team like an Indiana you have to be decisive and be able to make a play.”

On missed opportunities towards the end of the game

“Not all our shots were falling so we put extra pressure on our defense to hold. We did a good job of rebounding but when you can’t convert offensively you can’t win games. At the end they made the plays they needed to and we didn’t.”

Kelvin Sampson, Indiana head coach

On the game

“I thought our young guys were really good tonight. We played with poise and composure and we did a good job trying to attack the zone with (Jamarcus) Ellis and D.J. (White) and play from the inside out. We are also lucky to have a senior like D.J. He is what keeps this team going and the reason we have continued to improve.”
On young guys recovering from game versus Illinois

“We were a little concerned but we talked about coming back for Ohio State. We brought them in the next day at 5:00 instead of 3:00 and just walked through. We told them we would have great legs for Sunday; we convinced them we would be fresh. With the young guys you just have to tell them what to expect.”

On the lack of free throw attempts

“Sometimes you just have to take what the defense gives you. We had a few shot selection problems today but for the most part we played smart, had good shot selection and did a good job taking what they gave us. You always shoot more free throws against a man-to-man defense rather than a zone also.”

On preparing for Ohio State

“There were three points that started with Butler. We knew we had to keep (Othello) Hunter off the offensive glass, make sure there was always a man on Butler, and get defensive rebounds. We knew we couldn’t give them two and three shots.”

Postgame Notes

The attendance at the Ohio State vs. Indiana game in Value City Arena Sunday was 19,049, marking the sixth sellout crowd and fourth consecutive for Ohio State this season. The Buckeyes are 4-2 in sellouts this season and 43-9 all-time in VCA sellouts. Ohio State has won 20 of the last 22 games that VCA has sold out.                 

Ohio State is 36-14 against Big Ten opponents in Value City Arena since its opening in 1998. The Buckeyes are 87-18 in the VCA overall. Records reflect NCAA vacated games from 1998-99 though 2001-02.   

The Buckeye last loss against a Big Ten opponent at home was against Michigan State Jan. 15, 2006 when Ohio State lost 59-62 in double overtime. The loss ends a streak of 19-consecutive Big Ten home wins. 

Ohio State dialed up the 3-point defense in the first half as Indiana only shot 30.0 percent (3-10) from behind the arch. Only one Hoosier (Eric Gordon) connected on a first half 3-point attempt. In the second half, the Buckeye held Indiana to only one 3-point field goal and 12.5 percent (1-8) from behind the arc. For the game the Hoosiers shot 22.2 percent (4-18) from the 3-point arc.    

The Buckeyes tighten up the defense down the stretch and did not allow Indiana to hit a field goal in the final 2:36.

After a slow start, the Buckeyes heated up in the second half as they shot 46.2 percent (12-26) from the field. The hot shooting was fueled by the bench as Ohio State’s reserves outscored Indiana’s 16-11.

Freshmen Kosta Koufos and Jon Diebler combined for 32 points Sunday marking the fourth time this season they have combined for 30 plus and the seventh time this season a freshman pair has gone for 30 or more.

Senior Jamar Butler continued to climb the Ohio State record books on Sunday. With his six assists, Butler is now only five behind Kelvin Ransey for the No. 1 spot on the career assist chart. With his four points, the Lima, Ohio native also moved to 35th on Ohio State’s all-time scoring list. Butler is now only four points behind Ron Sepic for 34th on the all-time scoring list.