Ohio State uses better offensive flow, solid defense to lead Indiana at the half

Ohio State looked more like the Buckeye team of earlier this year in the first half and leads the Hoosiers by nine at halftime.

Now that’s more like it.

We saw flashes of the Ohio State team of 2019 in the first half against Indiana. It played through its big man Kaleb Wesson, locked down on the defensive end, and shared the basketball well. It all resulted in a halftime lead of 31-22 at the break.

The Buckeyes came out of the gate looking for Kaleb Wesson. He got entries in the post and scored the first six points of the game for Ohio State. Indiana also got out to a good start offensively in a more frenetic pace than anyone would have predicted. But then thing settled in and the Buckeyes began to clamp down on the offensive end.

But most importantly, the Buckeyes are winning the turnover battle. They’ve forced nine miscues by Indiana, and have only given the ball up six times in the first half. It’s still not where coach Holtmann likely wants things, but it’s much better than what we’ve seen during the rough patch recently.

Ohio State is also controlling the boards — outrebounding Indiana 17 to 12, with five of those coming on the offensive end. This game can be easy when you boil it down. Get more possessions and make the same or better percentage of shots than the other team. That’s what’s happening in this one. The Buckeyes have eight more shots than Indiana because of the turnovers and rebounds and are shooting 42.9 percent as opposed to the Hoosiers’ 40 percent.

OSU has also gotten good guard play. Duane Washington has been rather poised with the ball in his hand as he plays a different role at times with D.J. Carton out of the lineup, and C.J. Walker leads the team in points at halftime with seven.

We’ve seen a solid first twenty minutes from Ohio State recently only to witness a poor second half. Now it’s about finishing the deal and getting a huge win.

 

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