Published Jan 7, 2022
Quick Hitters: Takeaways from IU's win over Ohio State
Alec Lasley  •  Hoosier Huddle
Senior Writer
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@allasley
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Indiana came into Thursday's game needing a signature win and it got one in a big way, taking down No. 13 Ohio State 67-51.

It was by far Indiana's best performance of the season and it was finally a complete game by the Hoosiers.

Indiana turns to 11-3 (2-2) on the year and now has some momentum after tripping up at Penn State.

Winning on the road still remains the question for this team, but it has proven to be unstoppable in Assembly Hall.

Here are the main takeaways from IU's win over Ohio State.

A full 40-minute game: Indiana had struggled putting together a game in which it played a full 40 minutes. It put together two good halves against Syracuse and Wisconsin, but fell in both due to only playing 20-30 minutes, and also had segments in nearly every game this year in which it disappeared. Thursday, however, was Indiana's best performance of the season and was a complete game, showing you what this team can be if it just shows up and competes.

Trey Galloway is so underrated: Just because he doesn't score, doesn't mean he's not extremely important to this team. I think that's what a lot of people realized last night with Galloway. Yes, he had eight points, but it was his energy all over the floor and the intensity in which he played that sparked an early run for IU -- never looking back after. His four assists to zero turnovers was impressive against a good defensive backcourt. Whether it was Galloway flying around on defense, using great dribble-penetration on offense, or just moving with a purpose, his return was much needed for Indiana and looks like it could spark a little run for the Hoosiers in Big Ten play.

Trayce Jackson-Davis responds: Mike Woodson challenged Jackson-Davis after the Penn State loss and the IU big man responded in a huge way. He poured in 27 points, including 16 of the team's 33 first half points, 12. rebounds and five blocks. Jackson-Davis totally dominated All-Big Ten and preseason All-American forward EJ Liddell on both ends of the floor and showed his motor all night long. If he can play like this more consistently, IU will reach another level of success.

Shooters still lacking: If Parker Stewart is off, Indiana is not a good three-point shooting team... at least consistently. Last night, Stewart was just 2-of-8 and 1-of-5 from deep. As a team, IU was just 2-of-15 from three, its worst shooting night this year. Rob Phinisee, Miller Kopp and Xavier Johnson combined to go 0-of-7 from three. The Hoosiers need to find a way to get Kopp at a more consistent level so there isn't as much of a drop-off when Stewart has an off night.

3pt defense responds: Ohio State came in shooting 38.7 percent from three but on Thursday the Hoosiers held them to just 29.8 percent (8-of-27). It comes just one game after giving up 11 3's to a Penn State team that shot just 33 percent on the season. IU allowed just three 3's in the first half and was able to control Justin Ahrens and hold him to just 2-of-6 from deep. IU's three-point defense continues to be one of the best in the country, holding teams to just a 29.6 clip from three.

Frontcourt matchup: We talked about Jackson-Davis and the game he had, but Race Thompson also chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds. More importantly, that duo dominated the Ohio State big men. EJ Liddell and Zed Key came in as the top two scorers for the Buckeyes, but on Thursday, they combined for just 13 points on 3-of-14 from the field. Liddell was just 3-of-12 and was visibly frustrated in the second half. Key struggled with the physical play of both Jackson-Davis and Thompson and played just 15 minutes -- a season low and just the third time under 20 minutes this year.

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