Written by David Regimbal

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The Ohio State Buckeyes (14-0) closed out 2010 with a convincing 85-67 victory over the struggling Indiana Hoosiers on New Year’s Eve. In Ohio State’s Big Ten opener, the Buckeyes caught fire from behind the arch and tied an Assembly Hall record for most three’s by a visiting team after connecting on 13 of their 19 attempts. Buford and Diebler each hit five 3-pointers while Lighty connected on two and freshman Jordan Sibert added one. With the Hoosiers focusing their zone on trying to limit Ohio State’s inside game, the Buckeyes torched Indiana on the perimeter. Buford was surprised by the numbers after the game, "I didn't know we shot that well. That's pretty good," Buford said. "When they were in a zone, we were rotating the ball, and then they couldn't get to the shooters and we were just knocking them down."

Buford should not have been surprised by Ohio State’s performance. The junior swingman was a huge factor from the outset, scoring the first eight points for the Buckeyes. Buford connected on his first five shots, three of which were three's, in a stretch where Ohio State built a double digit lead. Overall, the Buckeyes shot a blistering 79% from the field in the first half and went into intermission with a 46-33 lead.

The second half was much of the same for the Buckeyes as they continued to pour it on from behind the arch. After connecting on seven 3-pointers in the first half, Ohio State added six more in the first 12 minutes of the second. With Sullinger lurking on the low post, Indiana stuck with their defensive strategy, even though they were giving up open look after open look. Indiana head coach Tom Crean talked about the difficulty of guarding Ohio State after the game, “They're such a dominant team and they're so good at so many positions that you just can't let guys do things that they don't normally do in games.” He later added, “These guys can beat you from three, they can beat you from the pull-up game, they can beat you at the rim and you've got to get up and you've got to establish more will and grit and resolve to that.”

As Crean found out, his team lacked the grit and resolve to stop the Buckeyes. Even with their defense focusing on Sullinger, the freshman forward was still able to score 19 points on 5-6 shooting. Sullinger was just one rebound away from earning his seventh double-double of the season, and made it to the free throw line to shoot 12 freebies against Indiana. In fact, Sullinger single handedly fouled out two Hoosier players, Derek Elston and Tom Pritchard. Elston, a forward starter for Indiana, only played seven total minutes as a result of his foul trouble.

Ohio State coach Thad Matta has prepared his team to adjust if its opponents are looking to take away the inside game like Indiana, “Jared did not get a lot of ball touches to start the game... Our guys did a great job of remaining patient and getting the ball into the post. We know Jared will throw the ball outside a lot and our guys were hitting from outside.”

Buford was in line with the game plan, “When Sully's in the game, he's such a factor and they concentrate on him, and we just opened it up... Then he did what he does down low and it just opened up the game for us."

Who’s Next?

The Buckeyes will stay on the road for their matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday, January 4. The game will tip-off at 9:00 PM EST and will be carried by the Big Ten Network.