Buckeyes Suffer Second Loss of the Season at Indiana

The No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes suffered their second loss of the season on New Year’s Eve -- falling to the Indiana Hoosiers 74-70 in Bloomington. The Buckeyes join Kentucky -- the former No. 1 team in the country -- as ranked squads who have suffered close losses to the resilient Hoosiers.

Aaron Craft scored 16 points and had five rebounds and four assists, but his six turnovers hurt an Ohio State team fighting to find a rhythm in what turned out to be a tightly officiated game. Jared Sullinger was forced to the bench early with foul trouble before finishing with 15 points and nine rebounds.

Despite the turnovers and the foul trouble, the Buckeyes still had an opportunity to win the game, “It was obviously a difficult challenge," Matta Said. "I thought we put ourselves in a pretty decent position."

Ohio State did put themselves in good position with just under two minutes to play when Deshaun Thomas connected on a jumper, giving the Buckeyes a 70-69 lead. After a missed layup by Indiana on the other end, Ohio State had a chance to take over the game -- but everything fell apart. William Buford turned it over on Ohio State’s next possession, and when Indiana’s Verdell Jones missed a jumper, the Buckeyes returned the favor with another Aaron Craft turnover. Victor Oladipo gave Indiana the lead on the other end with a layup, and with 15 seconds left on the other end, Aaron Craft made another critical mistake by driving into a crowded lane, turning the ball over on consecutive possessions.

The Buckeyes ended up sending a 95% free-throw shooter -- Jordan Hulls -- to the line. Hulls unexpectedly missed the second freebie, and down just 72-70, all Ohio State needed was a 2-pointer to send it into overtime. With Indiana’s best post-defender on the bench with five fouls, there was plenty of time to get the ball down low to Sullinger. Unfortunately -- with no timeouts left -- William Buford launched a deep, contested 3-pointer with over six seconds left on the clock. The shot bounced off the rim and found its way into Christian Watford’s hands and Indiana went on to win by four.

"They've been punking us the past couple years and we realized that," Oladipo said after the game. "This year we had to go toe-to-toe with them."

The Buckeyes return home to play Nebraska this Tuesday and will have to wait just two weeks for a rematch with the Hoosiers. Ohio State will host Indiana on Sunday, January 15 in what will be a nationally televised game.

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