Indiana fell flat after a two-game winning streak, losing to Ohio State 78-59 on Saturday afternoon.
The Hoosiers now fall to 11-9 (6-7) on the season with just six games remaining before the Big Ten Tournament.
Indiana returns home to face off against Minnesota on Wednesday after a two-game away stint.
Here are the main takeaways from Indiana's loss to No 4 Ohio State.
Slow starts too predictable. Indiana has now seen double-digit deficits in each of the past three games. On Saturday it was a 19-0 run for the Buckeyes that gave them a 21-6 lead. After that, it was all about trying to play from behind for IU and there are only so many times in which you can come back from being in that big of a hole early, and come out with a win.
Turnovers continue to hinder IU offense: IU had 15 turnovers on Saturday for a turnover percentage of 23.5 for the game. It was the Hoosiers second-highest number on the season. Al Durham and Armaan Franklin combined for seven turnovers. Once again, it was more mental mistakes than actual physical mistakes. Ohio State ended up finishing with 21 points off of IU turnovers.
Starting lineup needs a change: Archie Miller says he knows the slow starts are a problem, but at some point it's not about how prepared you are for a game, it may just be the personnel on the floor. IU's offense continues to be stagnant with Rob Phinisee in the lineup, and it was another game in which he underwhelmed for the majority of the game. Despite Khristian Lander's inconsistencies, like most freshmen, he provides some spark for IU and always has an uptempo pace that helps with potential transition and secondary break opportunities. A change is needed and it should realistically come at the point guard position.
Still no real momentum building streak: Indiana has yet to win or lose more than two games in a row this season. For losses, that is great, but if a team isn't able to win more than two games in a row, it's going to be very difficult to make any sort of improvements and continue to get better. A win yesterday would have put IU in a great position as the final stretch of the season begins, but the loss puts Indiana right back into that bubble conversation and still looks like a team that needs to continue to put some work in.
Lack of firepower off of the bench: Indiana was outscored 18-10 in bench points and all 10 for the Hoosiers came from Jerome Hunter. The freshmen were a combined 0-of-4 with five assists and six turnovers in 44 total minutes. It remains another inconsistent part of Indiana's game-to-game scenarios, with no real idea of what it will get from the bench.
IU's backcourt outplayed: A game after combining for 47 points, the duo of Al Durham and Armaan Franklin combined for just 10 points on 3-of-12 from the field and four assists to seven turnovers. Rob Phinisee added seven points while Khristian Lander had three assists and four turnovers. For OSU, its backcourt duo of CJ Walker and Duane Washington combined for 22 points on 7-of-14 from the field and four assists to two turnovers.
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