Hoosiers leave Columbus on 7-game losing streak

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Overwhelmed, undersized and facing another opponent firing on all cylinders, the IU men’s basketball team lost again Tuesday night.

Ohio State dismantled IU (5-10, 0-4), 77-53, for the Hoosiers’ seventh consecutive loss. This marks the team’s longest losing streak since 1964.

Much like their game at Illinois last Saturday, the Hoosiers fell far behind early, unable to stop Ohio State’s 3-point barrage. Although IU contained Ohio State’s leading scorer, Evan Turner, who spent much of the first half in foul trouble, the Buckeyes still hit 11-of-16 from behind the arc in the first half, including 5-of-6 from sharpshooter Jon Diebler.

IU coach Tom Crean acknowledged that his team needs to come out ready from the beginning of every game, but he said he believes the best way to prepare his team for early runs from IU’s opponents is to stay the course in practice.

“We’ve just got to continue to do what we’re doing,” Crean said. “We’ve just got to stay completely on track, add and delete what we can, see what gets us better and continue to absolutely stay positive. And make sure we’re pointing out the things that cause you to lose.”

Freshman guard Verdell Jones, who was one of just two Hoosiers in double-digit scoring, said the psyche of the team in road games needs to change for them to be successful away from Bloomington.

“I think it’s mental,” Jones said. “We’ve got to come in and understand with each other that we’re going to come down to fight. We’ve got to buckle down and get stops, but we didn’t do that today.”

Despite the Buckeye surge, the Hoosiers weathered the 3-point storm early and cut the Buckeyes’ lead to 15-10 before things turned ugly. Ohio State reeled off an 18-0 run to all but end the game.

In the second half, the Hoosiers halted the Buckeyes’ 3-point threat, only to see the Ohio State big men start to get their points.

Leading the Buckeyes to several easy looks was crisp passing – Ohio State had 23 assists to 28 total field goals made.

Ohio State point guard Jeremie Simmons, who notched a career-high eight assists, said his team can be dominant when the teammates rotate the ball.

“When we move the ball, we can get any shot we want and get a lot of open looks,” Simmons said.

This is the second game in a row that the Hoosiers have witnessed impressive ball movement from the opposition. While Crean said his teams might never be great assists teams because of his goal to try to drive the ball and get to the foul line, his team can still learn from the clinic the Buckeyes put on Tuesday.

“Absolutely,” Crean said when asked whether he can use Ohio State’s performance as an example of how to be successful. “There’s so many different things. It’s not down to basketball. It could be football – it could be any sport.”