From IDS reports
James Blackmon Jr.’s second half against Ohio State was enough to help IU hold off the Buckeyes in a 69-66 win, and it also earned him his second Big Ten Freshman of the Week award.
The freshman guard scored a game-high 18 points against the Buckeyes, 16 of which came in 16 second-half minutes. He also added seven rebounds and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
Blackmon, who entered the game on a bit of a scoring slump, impressed IU Coach Tom Crean with his ability to find ways to score inside the arc. Blackmon shot just 1-of-5 from 3-point range. He instead did the bulk of his damage from mid-range, transition and the line.
“James learned a lot,” Crean said. “For James to find layups and drive, foul, get three offensive rebounds, that’s the growth we’ve got to have. And I thought he had a really good job of adjusting.”
Blackmon leads IU and is seventh in the Big Ten in scoring with 16.7 points per game despite a slow start to his Big Ten campaign. He’s shooting 88.3 percent from the free-throw line, the second highest clip in the conference.
Blackmon will look to build on his strong second half 7 p.m. tonight when IU plays Penn State at Assembly Hall.
Sam Beishuizen
