Oh how the mighty continue to fall this unpredictable season. No.14 Ohio State waltzed into Assembly Hall Tuesday night and knocked off No.2 Indiana in a stunning upset.
Coming into last night's matchup, Indiana star Victor Oladipo was averaging 20.0 points per game against ranked opponents, something his Hoosier teammates have come to expect from the big gamer. However, things quickly changed after two early fouls and a little bit of frustration sent Oladipo to the bench with zero field goal attempts at the half and his team trailing 28-25.
Ohio State came into the game with an attitude they needed to get the job done. Pesky on defense, often getting under Indian's skin, but even harder to contain on the offensive side with G Aaron Craft's dribble penetration the cut through the lane like a knife on butter.
Craft and the game's leading scorer Deshaun Thomas forced the action early by jumping out to an 11-2 lead to start the game, forcing Indiana to play from behind the entire game, something they looked very uncomfortable doing.
At the half, Ohio State head coach Thad Matta knew his game plan had to continue as it did in the first half, "Gotta keep Oladipo and Zeller in foul trouble and we'll be alright."
Alright they were.
The loss was a tough one for the Hoosiers, which had a cutting of the nets ceremony planned for the seniors after the game.
For Ohio State, things just got a whole lot more interesting in the title race. The first leg of the three part race to the crown is in the books. Now they need a victory over Illinois and a Michigan victory over Indiana.
"We have to root for them (the Wolverines). They rooted for us last year and I'm sure they rooted for us this year," Thomas said. "Now we're going to have to root for them, and hopefully they can knock them (Hoosiers) off at their place."
It'll be a wild week in the Big Ten conference.