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 Guard Yogi Ferrell scored 20 points and forward Will Sheehey
added another 19 points to propel Indiana past No. 22 Ohio State
72-64.
It is the fourth ranked team Indiana has defeated this season. The
Hoosiers have now knocked off back-to-back ranked teams after
defeating No. 20 Iowa on Thursday.
"This league is so tough that the only thing you can liken it to is
a 15-round fight every night," Indiana coach Tom Crean said. "We've
been answering every round. We've been dealing with it in a good
way. Really, really proud of the way our team played today."
Ohio State has now lost back-to-back road games after losing to Penn
State on Thursday.
"Right now I think that we are really lacking in confidence and in
toughness in terms of playing through situations," Ohio State coach
Thad Matta said. "Those are things that some how, some way, we have
to get corrected."
Crean tweeted about 30 minutes before the game was scheduled to tip
that the Hoosiers would be playing without Vonleh, who is Indiana's
leading rebounder and second-leading scorer. Vonleh missed the game
with inflammation in his foot.
Indiana managed to overcome not playing without their best big man,
as it never trailed in the second half and led for about a quarter
of the first half.
Sophomore forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea saw an increase in playing
time, tying his career-high with 15 minutes played due to Vonleh's
absence. He scored eight points, which also ties a career-high, and
also added five rebounds and three blocks off the bench.
"We knew this was going to be a big game and we needed to win this
game," he said. "Especially when we found out Noah wasn't going to
be playing, I knew my team was going to need me right now and I
needed to pick it up."
The Buckeyes got to within one of the Hoosiers with 9:22 to go in
the second half on Sunday, but the Hoosiers answered quickly with
back-to-back 3-pointers from guard Evan Gordon and Sheehey to take a
54-47 lead.
"Will's been making big shots," Crean said. "That's the confidence
that he has, as he should. That's the confidence that his teammates
have in him and they always have. That's the product of just being
in the right place at the right time because you're always moving."
Sheehey scored a career-high 30 points on Thursday, making his last
two games the best two games he has played statistically all season.
He also added six rebounds and four steals and shot 8-for-12 from
the floor.
"He and Victor Oladipo along with Jordan Hulls changed the culture
of this program," Crean said. "There's no doubt about it. He's the
only one left. That culture is still moving in a great place because
of what he does and because of what guys like Yogi and others are
doing more of. Will Sheehey is capable of a lot of things, and
that's what we want him to continue to understand and do."
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Ohio State would get back to within three at 53-56, but
Mosquera-Perea caught a pass from Ferrell near the rim and made the
layup while getting fouled by Ohio State's LaQuinton Ross, who
fouled out on the play with 3:33 to go. Mosquera-Perea connected on
the free throw to give IU a 59-53 advantage.
"We pride ourselves on defense," Matta said. "We missed layups and
we missed free throws, and then all of a sudden, we clammed up and
we lost our defensive intensity. We lost our juice on the defensive
end."
Guard Lenzelle Smith, Jr. and Ross both scored 19 points for the
Buckeyes.
At halftime, IU was in control with a 33-25 lead.
The Hoosiers went on a 16-0 run from the 7:54 mark to the 3:10 mark
in the opening 20 minutes. During that run, Ohio State had two
turnovers and missed four shots.
Indiana, meanwhile, scored points on six consecutive possessions.
Within that run, Ross was called for a technical foul at the 4:06
mark after shoving Indiana forward Austin Etherington after a play.
Ross missed two free throws for a foul that was called, while
Ferrell made two free throws for Williams' technical.
On IU's possession after the free throws, Ferrell drained a
3-pointer to give the Hoosiers' a 28-20 lead.
Before IU's run, Ohio State led Indiana 20-12 at the 7:54 mark.
Indiana took its first lead at the 4:34 mark off of a 3-pointer from
Sheehey.
The Buckeyes looked to be dominating the game with center Amir
Williams in the game, but he came out with 11:04 to go in the half
after picking up his second foul. Ohio State led 13-9 at that point.
NOTES: Indiana is now 3-8 against Ohio State in the Tom Crean era.
... Indiana has defeated four ranked teams in Assembly Hall this
season. ... Ohio State went 0-11 from 3-point range. ... Indiana
connected on 24-50 field-goal attempts. ... F Jeremy Hollowell
started in place of the injured Noah Vonleh, making his first start
since January. ... Ohio State only had nine bench points, while
Indiana tallied 19. ... Indiana won the rebounding battle 34-32
despite playing without Vonleh.
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