OSU in Columbus tough combo

Senior guard A.J. Moye said he can hardly remember the last time Indiana beat Ohio State in Columbus. \n"I think I've won there once, and that was my freshman year and we had Kirk Haston hitting shots out the wazoots," Moye said. "It's tough playing there."\nIU (8-6, 2-1 Big Ten) will face Ohio State (9-7, 1-2) at 7 p.m. tonight at the Value City Arena at Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus, an arena that holding 19,200 fans.\n"The fans get into it regardless of their record," Moye said. "But we showed good on the road the last time. We need to have a carry-over and I think we will."\nMoye was speaking of IU's 59-57 road win over Michigan, a game that many players said helped the team gain back confidence after they had had been struggling on the road.\nIU coach Mike Davis will look for the 76th win of his coaching career at IU against Ohio State and is currently 3-2 against the Buckeyes. \nHe said the key to success in Columbus will be communication.\n"It's so important that we really communicate and talk a lot on both ends of the court," Davis said. "When you talk, it really helps the situation that you're in."\nDavis also mentioned the Hoosiers are throwing the ball away too much. IU had 15 turnovers in Saturday's victory over Northwestern University.\nSophomore guard Marshall Strickland said the team has a lot of confidence right now and they continue to get better every game.\n"It's a road game and you can't go in on the road and take anybody lightly," Strickland said. "Teams are dangerous on their home courts and they can beat us if we go in there and play relaxed. But we feel that with confidence we can win."\nStrickland has been an important player in IU's last two games. The 6-foot-2 Strickland leads IU in scoring in Big Ten games, averaging12.7 points per game. He has also made all of his last six free throw attempts and has hit seven of his last 14 three-point field goal attempts.\nDavis said he likes how sophomore guard Bracey Wright doesn't have to do all of the team's scoring anymore.\n"Bracey is averaging right at 13 or 14 points a game and that's not bad for him," Davis said. "Then there's Marshall, he's right at around 15 points per game. That's two guys averaging in double figures and we need that."\nJunior guard Ryan Tapak was seeing a lot of playing action before the start of the Big Ten season, starting at point guard for three games.\nNow that Davis has moved Tapak out of the starting line-up and the team is 2-0, Davis said he doesn't see any reason to make any changes in the starters.\n"We'll switch it up when we lose, but when you're at 2-0 you stay where you are," Davis said. Davis said he thinks the Hoosiers will come out with a win if they can hold Ohio State to 50 to 55 points and keep the Buckeyes shooting at no more than 39 percent.\nDavis's optimism for the season appears to be rubbing off on the IU players.\n"I think Coach believes we can win this, win the Big Ten," Strickland said. "I think the players are actually starting to believe it, too"