GameDay Preview: 3 Things I Want to See From Hoosiers vs. Ohio State

Indiana absolutely has to hold serve Saturday and win at home against Ohio State, and maybe some added ball pressure and a shorter bench would help.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — There are no easy days once the Big Ten schedule kicks in, and Saturday is no different for the Indiana Hoosiers with Ohio State coming to town. It's the second of five games this month against ranked opponents, and it won't be easy.

The Buckeyes were on the verge of being ranked No. 1 in the country three weeks ago, winning nine straight games before losing on the road in December at Minnesota. But now they're on a rare three-game losing streak and are "a cornered team,'' according to Indiana coach Archie Miller.

He's not fooled by the losing streak. He's knows better, and he knows that Ohio State still has Final Four-level talent.

"Ohio State is, without question, a Final Four-caliber team and a team that has aspirations to do a lot of big things within our conference,'' Miller said on Friday. "I mean, like every coach right now, you're just putting your head down, and you're trying not to get overwhelmed with what our league has become this year.''

The Big Ten is very good, and it's odd to not see Ohio State at the top. So this game is critical for both teams. 

Here are the particulars:

• Who: Ohio State Buckeyes (10-4, 1-3 in the Big Ten) vs. Indiana Hoosiers (12-3, 2-2 in Big Ten) 
• When: Noon ET, Saturday, Jan. 11
• Where: Simon Skojdt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind. 
• Line: Ohio State is a 2.5-point favorite, per VegasInsider.com.
• Poll rankings: Ohio State is ranked No. 11 in the Associated Press poll and No. 12 in the Coaches poll. Indiana had been receiving votes in both polls for six weeks until losing twice a week ago to drop out completely.
• Kenpom.com rankings: Indiana is No. 44, Ohio State is No. 4, the second-highest ranked Big Ten team behind Michigan State (No. 3).
• TV: Fox
• Announcers: Gus Johnson, Jim Jackson, Lisa Byington
• Radio: Indiana Radio Network
• Announcers: Don Fischer, Eric Suhr, Joe Smith

Here are three things I want to see from the Hoosiers on Saturday:

1. Hold serve at home in the conference

It's always been this way in the Big Ten, where winning games on the road has been next to impossible. This year, it's been ramped up even more, which is why it's critical for Indiana to hold serve and win at home against the Buckeyes.

It won't be easy, of course, and the Buckeyes are favored in the Las Vegas betting lines, but not by much. Ohio State is favored by 2.5 points, according to VegasInsider.com That's irrelevant to the game itself, of course, and the Hoosiers will need to come out energized to get the Assembly Hall crowd behind them.

The fans need to be ready for this big game, too. And the players need to give them something to cheer about right from the get-go.

2. Use full-court pressure more to keep guards engaged

For much of this recent skid for Indiana that has included losses to Arkansas and Maryland and a sloppy win against Northwestern on Wednesday night, there's been very little intense defense from the Hoosiers. They've just been going through the motions. For instance, in the loss to Maryland, they only forced three turnovers and never had a single steal in the first 20 minutes of that game.

It was the same for long stretches against Northwestern, and it showed on the scoreboard when they were down 10 with less than 10 minutes to go. Then Indiana started picking up full-court and it started to make a difference. They got turnovers and were able to get good run-outs and easy baskets. I want to see more of that, and when I asked Miller about it on Friday, he said we might see more of it early in games, too. That's great news.

"I think so. I think it's a good point,'' he said. "I think once you start to set the tone that you're going to pick up pressure and you're going to play it full court, that it hopefully engages your guys to understand that we're going to play 94 feet, and we're going to play hard. 

"Your guards have got to play a little bit harder on the ball, and I definitely think that it helped us the other night. It picked up our pressure. Things weren't as easy, and I think it's a team that has the ability to do that, and I think that maybe we can start to implement that a little bit more even when you're not down. It's something that we went through. It's something our staff has talked about adding more to it.'' 

3. Don't stretch the bench too deep if it's not performing

On Wednesday night, Miller basically stuck with just six guys during the last 10 minutes of the win over Northwestern, and that group helped erase that 10-point deficit and pull out a win. 

The six guys — forwards Trayce Jackson-Davis, Joey Brunk and Justin Smith and guards Al Durham, Rob Phinisee and Armaan Franklin — all played well in crunch time. The others, including starting guard Devonte Green, who had a rough night, stayed strapped to the bench. Guys like De'Ron Davis and Jerome Hunter haven't played well at all the past month or so, and Damezi Anderson and Race Thompson haven't shown much either.

Miller actually liked the 11-man rotation early in the year, but it hasn't been working late. It's hard to have all 11 playing well, so a short trigger with their playing time might be a good thing. We still do need the "good'' Devonte Green and his 3-point shooting, but if it's not there, then keep him on the bench. 

The five best guys need to be playing.

Related stories for Indiana-Ohio State

• Meet the Opponent: Here's what you need to know about Ohio State. CLICK HERE
• Tom Brew column: Indiana a fragile team right now. CLICK HERE
• From SI Ohio State: Buckeyes could benefit from Kyle Young return. CLICK HERE
• Twitter: Follow Tom Brew @tombrewsports
• Facebook: Follow our Indiana page at Facebook.com/SportsIllustratedIndiana
• Standings: Current Big Ten basketball standings