Indiana will welcome No. 12 Ohio State into Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Saturday afternoon in what will be the toughest challenge the Hoosiers will have played at home to date.

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When discussing th eBig Ten in a broad sense Friday afternoon, Indiana head coach Archie Miller mentioned that any team that can “run through” the conference is going to be dangerous. This Associated Press No. 12 Ohio State was one of the two or three teams expected to potentially do that in the Big Ten this year.

“The depth is scary,” Miller said. “The depth is scary in our league.”

Ohio State and its 1-3 Big Ten record are testaments to that depth in the conference. The Buckeyes are currently rated No. 4 in the country by KenPom.com and is No. 14 in the NCAA NET ratings, but they have losses to at Minnesota, at Maryland and versus Wisconsin in Columbus. They also dropped a game against West Virginia to begin their current three-game losing streak.

The significance of the Ohio State game is multi-folded – with one of those folds allotted to the rumors surrounding a Bob Knight return to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall – but primarily circled around the way Indiana answers its near-loss to Northwestern.

Archie Miller said he didn’t know “where our minds are at” following the game Wednesday night and expressed doubts in the 11-man rotation he had employed since the beginning of the season. He expounded on what he meant about the mentality of the team Friday.

“If you as an individual player are about anything other than winning, it's going to contaminate our locker room; it's going to contaminate our bench, and you're not going to play well,” Miller said. “And if you have a group of guys that are a little funky, then you're in some trouble.”

There were clearly players who were not up to Miller’s mental standards Wednesday, as he emphasized, both after the game and Friday, that there was a group of players on the floor who brought the energy needed to win in the Big Ten. Bringing that energy and some type of mental correctness will be important to springboard away from the Northwestern game, which contained a kernel of potential if Indiana can respond against Ohio State.

Beating a vulnerable Ohio State team would aid the morale and momentum before the Hoosiers head into six consecutive underdog scenarios.

Ohio State forward Kaleb Wesson is likely the most physical post player Indiana will play this season, and it shows on the stat sheet. Among players used on 28 percent of their team’s possessions – the highest bracket of usage on KenPom.com – Wesson ranks No. 29 in the country in defensive rebounding percentage and No. 13 in fouls drawn per 40 minutes.

“It's just amazing to me the physicality that the games are played with,” Archie Miller said. “It's amazing to me how much attention that Kaleb draws and just the physicality of the games that he plays in. It's just amazing to me that it's basketball at some point in time. You feel like you're watching WWF sometimes.”

At 6-foot-9, 270 pounds, Wesson brings the physicality that defines the Ohio State defense, which allows the 11th-fewest points per game (58.9). He leads the team with 14.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game and, defensively, Ohio State ranks in the top-40 in each opponent field goal percentage (4th), opponent two-point field goal percentage (3rd), steals (11th), assists (18th), defensive rebounds (26th) and blocks (36th).

After entering the NBA Draft process before returning last season, has likely lined himself up as a draft prospect in 2020.

At 6-foot-8, junior forward Kyle Young bridges the gap on the inside between Wesson and two freshmen forwards – Alonzo Gaffney and Ibrahima Diallo. But lately Young hasn’t been able to play after an appendectomy. Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said Young will be a game-time decision.

“We'll prepare for him to play. I mean you just prepare for him being in there,” Miller said. “He's a warrior.”

Young’s physicality inside nearly matches Wesson’s, and his ability to find high-percentage shots opens up the post for Wesson as well. Young holds, by far, the highest offensive rating on the team and is shooting 70.2 percent from inside the three-point arc. Trayce Jackson-Davis shoots 67 percent inside.

Missing Young has played into the current three-game losing streak Ohio State is on, particularly in the Wisconsin loss at home.

Ohio State has a roster stacked with offensive talent, but as of late, the Buckeyes have struggled to convert. In the last three games, they’ve shot 31, 40 and 31 percent respectively and have turned the ball over at least 14 times in each game, including 22 times against West Virginia.

Typically, Ohio State’s guard play is some of the best in the Big Ten. Freshman D.J. Carton is averaging 10 points per game, while sophomore Duane Wahsington Jr. averages 11.4. Both Carton and Washington, as well as hybrid forward Andre Wesson shoot above 40 percent from three. Indianapolis native and Florida State transfer C.J. Walker has been a jolt in the offense as he facilitates much of the ball movement as the point guard.

But with little depth on the inside, it’s been tough sledding lately for the Buckeyes, who, if Kyle Young cannot play, will need to lean heavily on their backcourt, which matches up well with Indiana’s.

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