Jalen Hood-Schifino, Hoosiers send Ohio State into Big Ten midpoint with decisive loss
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The sky finally fell on Ohio State at Assembly Hall on Saturday night.
Or, to be more accurate, something from the sky. Thankfully, nobody was hurt.
After allowing their biggest run of the season in the final moments of the first half, the Buckeyes walked onto the court staring at a 16-point deficit on the four-screen jumbotron hovering over center court. As he neared midcourt, Ohio State freshman Brice Sensabaugh jumped as, about five feet to his right, a metallic piece of something crashed onto the court with an audible clang.
Play was halted for about five minutes. And when it resumed, the Hoosiers (15-6, 6-4 Big Ten) picked up right where they left off – and so did the Buckeyes (11-10, 3-7).
The final: Indiana 86, Ohio State 70, the latest in a series of defeats that are growing more lopsided as they increase in frequency. The Buckeyes have now lost two in a row after last Saturday’s home win against Iowa and seven of eight to reach the midpoint of league play within shouting distance of the basement and miles from the top. It's the first double-digit loss of Big Ten play for Ohio State.
"We’re just in a little funk right now," third-year center and captain Zed Key said. "People say you look worried. I’m not worried. We’ll be fine. We’ll get out of that."
Ohio State last started 3-7 in Big Ten play during the 2016-17 season, the final one for coach Thad Matta. The Buckeyes have also lost their last three games at Indiana.
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This is now the most losses in an eight-game stretch since Ohio State lost the final 17 games of the 1997-98 season. Sensabaugh was the lone consistent offensive threat for the Buckeyes, finishing with 23 points on 9 of 17 shooting.
He was no match alone for Indiana's Jalen Hood-Schifino, who hit his first five 3-point attempts and finished with 24 points, and Trayce Jackson-Davis, who had a double-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists
For 15 minutes, Ohio State matched just about everything Indiana could muster – minus the hot shooting of freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino, at least. With 5:05 to play in the half, Zed Key drew a foul on Trayce Jackson-Davis at the rim, went to the line and made the second of his two free throws to pull Ohio State within 31-30.
It was the fourth straight possession on which the Buckeyes had scored, and when Malik Reneau fouled Felix Okpara after he pulled down a defensive rebound the freshman center went to the line for a one-and-one opportunity and the chance to take the lead. Instead, he missed the front end, starting what would become a brutal close to the half. After Okpara missed a jumper from the right baseline, then drew a foul on the next possession and missed both of those free throws, Reneau tipped in a Jackson-Davis miss with 3:31 to play to give Indiana a 33-30 lead.
The Hoosiers would blow the doors off as a packed crowd threatened to blow the roof off Assembly Hall with each successive bucket. Starting with the Reneau tip-in, Indiana would close by scoring on seven straight possessions and sprint into the half with a 46-30 lead thanks to a 15-0 run in the final 3:31.
It was as decisive as it was crushing for the Buckeyes. Trey Galloway flipped in an over-the-head layup. Jackson-Davis slammed home a wide-open dunk with 2:34 left as Ohio State called timeout to try and stem the tide. It didn’t work. Ohio State missed its final seven shots, three free-throw attempts and had a turnover after pulling within 31-30.
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Sensabaugh put a fitting coda on the end of the half: In the final seconds, he passed up a 3-point attempt, drove to the basket and banked in a runner from the left block that left his fingers a second after the horn sounded.
That just set off even more applause as fifth-year guard and captain Isaac Likekele rushed out to put his arm around Sensabaugh while he walked off the court.
"It was tough," McNeil said. "When you give up a run like that on the road, we played them pretty even in the second half but giving up that substantial amount of points in that short of time, it went from like six to 16. We played them even in the second half. Gave up way too many points. Cleaned up some stuff on the defensive end. Continue to work on the things we’re working on and get better."
Holtmann earned his first technical of the season for yelling at an official after freshman Roddy Gayle was whistled for a foul near the midpoint of the first half. It came after Kaleb Banks scored through Gayle's contact and awarded Tamar Bates two free throws. He hit them both, but when Banks missed his attempt Sensabaugh lost the rebound out of bounds to extend Indiana's possession.
Reneau then scored over Justice Sueing to complete a six-point possession and give the Hoosiers a 27-21 lead.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Indiana closes half with flurry, sends Ohio State to another loss
