Buckeyes Now

Walker, Ahrens Help Ohio State Avenge Loss at Indiana

Buckeyes get much-needed victory in first game without D.J. Carton

Bruce Hooley

Walker, Ahrens Help Ohio State Avenge Loss at Indiana
Walker, Ahrens Help Ohio State Avenge Loss at Indiana /

Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann has seen the scores from around the Big Ten, and seen the histrionic headlines that accompany them.

He's rolled his eyes at a few before, and in the wake of his Buckeyes' 68-59 win over Indiana on Saturday now has his own personal example to support his view.

"This league is brutal," Holtmann said. "I'm sure there will be some upsets (the rest of the season). Quote, unquote, 'upsets,' where a ranked team loses on the road. 'Oh, shocking upset." Gimme a break. That's life in this league."

OSU's 9-point win over the Hoosiers' avenged a 66-54 loss in Bloomington exactly three weeks ago.

That's a 21-point turnaround, which is well beyond the normal bump a team gets from playing at home.

But that's been the story of the Big Ten this year, and it played out again Saturday, not just at Value City Arena, but at Wisconsin, where the Badgers avenged a 12-point loss at Michigan State with a one-point win a game they led by 18 in the second half.

So, do the vagaries of a competitive conference explain why OSU flipped the table on IU from 21 days ago when the Hoosiers out-toughed the Buckeyes in the second half and hurt them with 10 offensive rebounds?

Or, did Ohio State (14-7, 4-6) find the guts and inspiration to limit IU to just four second-chance opportunities all day because the leave of absence freshman D.J. Carton took on Thursday galvanized his teammates?

If not, yes and yes, the answer is somewhere between, probably...probably, and, maybe...maybe.

OSU purposefully attacked inside offensively at the outside, not just with Kaleb Wesson, but with Kyle Young, E.J. Liddell when he came off the bench and guards who attacked the paint regularly.

That aggressive attitude perhaps filtered to the defensive end, or the Buckeyes simply heeded the scouting report warning of consequences for not bodying-up the muscular, taller Hoosiers (15-7, 5-6).

OSU won the board battle, 31-24, and had an 8-0 advantage over Indiana in second-chance points.

"Telling," IU coach Archie Miller said. "That;s a very telling number. At the half we might have had one off rebound. We had four offensive rebounds for game. That hasn't happened all season. I give Ohio state credit. I'm sure that was a point of emphasis for them to keep us off the glass."

Wesson had 11 rebounds to go with 15 points.

That's the kind of contribution expected of him, but the 14 points in 35 minutes from point guard C.J. Walker and 11 points from Justin Ahrens off the bench were more surprising assets and much-needed in the wake of Carton's departure.

"I believe in myself," said Walker, who had four assists and only two turnovers. "I think I can do that. I think I play at a high level for that long at that pace. I definitely feel like I can sustain that and play at a high level to help us win."

Ahrens came up big from the perimeter at Nortwestern and did so again against the Hoosiers.

"You can't leave Justin or he's going to kill you," Wesson said.

Ahrens essentially sealed Indiana's fate with triples on successive possessions that expanded Ohio State's lead to 58-40 with eight minutes left.

He threw in another jumper from deep on the left wing at 6:06 to balloon the lead to 19 and launch the Buckeyes into a challenging week of games Tuesday at Michigan and Sunday at Wisconsin with some much-needed confidence.

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Bruce Hooley
BRUCE HOOLEY

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