Indiana basketball hits the road for the first of two straight games away from Assembly Hall on Friday night, when Indiana visits Ohio State for an 8:00 p.m. ET clash in Columbus.
The Hoosiers (13-5 overall, 4-3 in Big Ten play) have lost two consecutive games by 25-points—on the road against Iowa and at home against Illinois—for the first time since 2008. The Buckeyes (10-7 overall, 2-4 in Big Ten play) have lost two straight games as well—by just a combined four points—to ranked opponents Oregon and Wisconsin.
Before Indiana and Ohio State go head-to-head on Friday night, preview the Big Ten battle.
HEAD COACH PROFILE
Head Coach: Jake Diebler
Record: 18-10 in 2nd year overall, same at Ohio State
Diebler took over as the interim head coach of the Buckeyes on Feb. 14 of last season, leading Ohio State to an 8-3 record after taking over for Chris Holtmann. Diebler was then officially named the head coach just over a month later.
Diebler coaching career began back in 2009, where he spent one season as a graduate assistant at Valaraiso—Diebler's alma mater. Diebler stayed on the staff at Valpo for another three years, spending time as the director of operations and an assistant coach.
Then, Diebler took a job as a video coordinator at Ohio State, spending three seasons with the Buckeyes during his first stint in Columbus. The next stop for Diebler was at Vanderbilt, where he spent three years as an assistant coach before returning to Ohio State as an assistant on Holtmann's staff.
The first three seasons of Diebler's second stint with the Buckeyes was spent as an assistant coach before he was promoted to associate head coach and eventually took over for Holtman.
THIS SEASON
Ohio State began the season with an impressive ranked win over then-No. 19 Texas at a neutral site in Las Vegas. Ohio State wasn't as impressive in its next early-season test, a trip to College Station to play Texas A&M. The Buckeyes lost that game by 14 points to fall to 2-1 on the young season.
Ohio State responded by rattling off three consecutive wins over non-power conference opponents before Pitt visited Value City Arena in Columbus and took down Ohio State by one in a back-and-forth nail-bitter.
The Buckeyes then lost a second straight game, falling to Maryland on the road by 24 points to begin Big Ten play. Ohio State followed up the blowout loss at Maryland with a 14-point home win over Rutgers.
Then came Ohio State's toughest non-conference challenge of the year, a clash with one of the top teams in the country, Auburn. The Buckeyes were blown out in that contest, falling 91-53 before wrapping up non-conference play with three straight wins—including a neutral site victory over ranked Kentucky.
Since Big Ten play picked back up in early January, the Buckeyes have lost three of four. Ohio State's lone win in conference play in the new year came in double overtime against the league's worst team, Minnesota.
On the year, Ohio State is averaging 80.4 points per game on 48.2% shooting from the field and 37.4% from 3-point range. Defensively, the Buckeyes are allowing an average of 71.1 points a night. Opponents are shooting 39.4% from the floor and 29.1% from downtown this season against Ohio State.
The Buckeyes rank 31st in Kenpom, possessing the nation's 44th-ranked offense and 29th-ranked defense. Ohio State also slots in as the 31st-ranked team in the NET as well.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
- Guard Bruce Thornton: A 6-foot-2 junior, Thornton is considered one of the top guard in the conference. He's averaging 17.4 points and 4.4 assists on 53.1% shooting from the field and 43.3% shooting from 3-point range. Thornton was a third-team All-Big Ten selection a season ago and has started 87 games with the Buckeyes throughout his three years in Columbus, making him one of the most experience players in the Big Ten.
- Forward Devin Royal: Royal, a 6-foot-6 forward out of Pickerington, Ohio, is Ohio State's second-leading scorer on the season. He's averaging 13.8 points per game on 53.5% shooting from the field. Royal, a sophomore, leads the Buckeyes in rebounding on the year, pulling down 7.4 rebounds a game.
- Guard John Mobley: A 6-foot-1 true freshman, Mobley is one of the top bench options in the Big Ten. Out of the 17 appearances Mobley has made this season, 10 of them have come off the bench for the Buckeyes. He's averaging 11.9 points per game on 41.0% shooting from the field. The former four-star recruit is also shooting 43.0% from downtown on the year.
STORYLINES TO WATCH
Will Malik Reneau make his return for Indiana...
Indiana and head coach Mike Woodson have been rather quiet about forward Malik Reneau ever since the Hoosiers' leading scorer went down with an injury just 29 seconds into Indiana's win over Rutgers. While Woodson initially didn't provide a timetable for Reneau's return, he did hint at when the junior could be back for the cream and crimson prior to Indiana's loss to Illinois. On his pregame radio appearance with Don Fischer, Woodson said that he was hoping he would get Reneau back for Indiana's Friday night trip to Columbus to take on Ohio State. During Indiana's recent five-game winning streak, one that has since been halted thanks to back-to-back 25-point losses, much was made of Indiana's offensive flow and spacing without Reneau on the floor. However, Indiana could really use its leading scorer back on the floor. The Hoosiers may just get Reneau back for Friday's contest against Ohio State.
Which team will grab a big win...
At this point in the season, despite the ugly back-to-back losses for Indiana, all is not lost. Counting the game against Ohio State, Indiana's next nine games are all Quad 1 matchups. That means the Hoosiers have ample opportunities upcoming to pick themselves back up. Indiana remains slightly outside the bubble in terms of the NCAA Tournament right now, but a road win against a top-35 team in the NET would certainly help an Indiana team desperately looking for resume-boosting wins. On the flip side, Ohio State appears to be on the right side of the bubble as of now. While the Hoosiers wouldn't be a Quad 1 win for the Buckeyes, Ohio State is in desperate search for a win to bring its two-game losing streak to an end.
Can Mackenzie Mgbako return to form...
After relatively consistent production throughout non-conference play, Mackenzie Mgbako has disappeared as of late for the Hoosiers. In Big Ten play, Mgbako is averaging 8.7 points per game, while shooting 31.8% from the field and 26.7% from 3-point range. Since back-to-back double-figure performances against Rutgers and Penn State, Mgbako's been a non-factor in Indiana's last three games. Over his last three, Mgbako is averaging 3.3 points per game. He's shooting 12.5% from the field and 23.1% from downtown during that stretch. As Indiana aims to right the ship, getting more production from Mgbako is one of the many keys for the Hoosiers.
QUICK HITTERS
Who: Indiana (13-5, 4-3) at Ohio State (10-7, 2-4)
Series History: Indiana leads all-time series 112-88. (Last Meeting: Indiana won 76-73 on Feb. 6, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio)
When: Jan. 17, 2025 at 8:00 p.m. ET
Where: Value City Arena, Columbus, Indiana
TV: FOX: Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Jim Jackson (analyst)
Radio: IU Radio Network: Don Fischer (Play-by-Play), Errek Suhr (Analyst), John Herrick
–––––
Like this content? Join the conversation on TheHoosier.com's premium message boards and subscribe today!
– Follow TheHoosier on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!
– Subscribe to TheHoosier on YouTube for more content
– Interact with fellow fans on TheHoosier's Premium Football Board and Premium Hoops Board
