If there is a kryptonite for Tyra Buss at Simon Skjodt Assemblt Hall, it is the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The last time the Hoosiers hosted the Big Ten foe in Bloomington in 2015, the junior IU guard was held scoreless from the field. Buss had just three points, all from free throws. Saturday afternoon was much of the same. Buss just seemed out of sync and never really found her rhythm.
Ohio State snapped IU’s 20-game home win streak with a 92-82 win Saturday, and Buss managed just 13 points.
“The biggest difference between the first and the second half was we shot the ball better,” IU assistant coach Rhet Wierzba said in the IU radio postgame show on WHCC 105.1. “First half we got a lot of really good looks, they just didn’t go down.”
Buss came in with an IU record 51-game double-digit scoring streak. Midway through the third quarter, her streak was in serious doubt of reaching 52. At one point she was 0-7 from the field and couldn’t get anything going offensively as the Hoosiers worked the ball through junior forward Amanda Cahill.
Finally with 7:46 to play in the third quarter, Buss converted on two free throws. It wasn’t until the 3:22 mark in the quarter that she converted her first field goal. Cahill is normally one of the mainstays of IU's offense, but Buss has usually been right alongside her. Saturday, that wasn’t the case early on, and was a big reason why IU fell behind.
“Second half we got some of the same shots and we made them,” Wierzba said. “When you make them, it picks up your energy a little bit.”
The matchup against Ohio State was highly anticipated. With the home win streak on the line against the No. 14 team in the country on CBS, it felt like a game where Buss would have a chance to thrive on a big stage. But, her early production just wasn’t enough.
Buss finished 3-of-15 from the field and 0-for-4 from behind the arc. Seven of her points came from the free throw line, where the junior was perfect. Buss did contribute in other ways than scoring, as she dished out nine assists and grabbed five rebounds in the loss.
The failure of Buss and her fellow teammates to play to Cahill's level in the first half forced IU Coach Teri Moren and the Hoosiers to play from behind and never quite get close enough to make it a tight game.
