IU was up 10 with five minutes left in regulation, but a furious comeback by the Bucks sent the game to OT.
It may only be January, but Friday night’s game between the Buckeyes (10-8, 2-5) and the Indiana Hoosiers (14-5, 5-3) felt like a dire, must-win game for each program.
For Ohio State, it was critical to avoid falling to 2-5 in Big Ten play before heading to Mackey Arena next week. For Indiana, it was critical to win this game to calm down the ravenous mob of Hoosier fans who have decided that Mike Woodson’s time as head coach is over.
Woodson’s job may be safe — for now — as the Hoosiers edged out Ohio State 77-76 in Columbus Friday night behind a combined 44 points from Luke Goode and Oumar Ballo. For the Buckeyes, it means they now head to Mackey Arena 2-5 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes have gone 1-6 in their last seven trips to Mackey, winning exactly once there in the past 10 years.
IU wasn’t shy about their priority early on — get the ball to Oumar Ballo. The 7-foot, 270-pounder was unstoppable early in this one, taking four of Indiana’s first seven shots and scoring their first six points. Two of those baskets were from offensive rebounds when Aaron Bradshaw, Sean Stewart, and Evan Mahaffey all failed at stopping the big man on the defensive glass. Four minutes into the game Ohio State was clinging to a slim 7-6 lead.
Being guarded by his former high school teammate Bruce Thornton, Indiana sophomore guard Kanaan Carlyle rose up and knocked down his 13th three-point make of the season to get the Hoosiers back within two points with 10 minutes left in the first half. Two minutes later an alley-oop toss and slam from Carlyle to Ballo tied the game at 20, with just over seven minutes to go until halftime.
Evan Mahaffey JAM @OhioStateHoops #B1GMBBall on FOX pic.twitter.com/aVrhE0h55u
— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 18, 2025
Thornton, Stewart, Mahaffey, and Ques Glover all scored at least once in the final four minutes leading into halftime, as the Buckeyes jogged into the locker room with a 35-29 lead. The Buckeyes shot 46.2% in the first half, but IU grabbed eight offensive rebounds and turned it into eight second-chance points.
Luke Goode — a transfer from Illinois — chipped in a quick five points at the beginning of the second half, helping Indiana cut the Ohio State lead to 41-40 four minutes into the second half. To this point in the game, Goode and Ballo had combined for 26 of IU’s 40 points.
Indiana took a four-point lead briefly thanks to continued heroics by Goode, who tied his season-high (18) with over 12 minutes still to go in the game. Ohio State was paying a lot of attention to Ballo, and Goode became the beneficiary. A Thornton pull-up jumper with 11:43 remaining got it back within two, 50-48.
Ohio State took the lead back for a moment, 55-54, but IU answered with baskets from Ballo and Carlyle to put the Buckeyes back behind the 8-ball, 59-55. The Hoosiers were attacking the basket to put pressure on Ohio State’s interior defense, and then kicking out to Goode if the Buckeyes overhelped.
The Hoosiers kept coming at Ohio State, extending their lead to 68-58 on a long two-point shot by Goode to set his career-high. Once the lead got to 10, Indiana milked the clock possession after possession, sensing that the Buckeyes may not have the horses to string together one final push.
The Buckeyes pressed Indiana in the final three minutes, forcing one turnover on the inbounds pass and cutting IU’s 10-point lead down to three with 90 seconds remaining. After Galloway missed a three, Ohio State called timeout with 46 seconds left and drew up a play for Mobley, who promptly canned his fifth three-pointer of the game to tie everything up, 71-71.
Indiana came up empty on their next possession, and Ohio State got the ball back with nine seconds left. Thornton tried to score on Ballo, but the Indiana big did a great job sticking with the guard and he was not even able to get a shot off — overtime!
In overtime, the teams traded buckets back and forth, with Ivan Njegovan scoring at the start of the extra period and giving the Buckeyes the lead, followed by a big block at the other end. A Goode three-pointer that was the product of Indiana’s 14th offensive rebound of the game put the Hoosiers up, 77-76 with 67 seconds remaining.
After Ohio State forced a shot clock violation with 16 seconds remaining, Thornton’s three-point attempt at the buzzer bounced in, around, and out. Ballgame.
If you weren’t around Friday night to see Ohio State fall to Indiana and slip further and further down the Big Ten standings, here were a few key moments that played a part in IU’s road win:
Oumar Ballo is a massive human being
Aside from Zach Edey, Indiana’s Oumar Ballo is the most physically imposing player to face Ohio State in the past several seasons. At an even 7 feet tall and 270 pounds, he has 50 pounds on Bradshaw and Stewart, and 70 pounds on Mahaffey — the three guys responsible for guarding him at different points during this game.
Ballo flexed on Ohio State early in this game, scoring Indiana’s first six points and pretty much establishing that there was nobody in the building capable of boxing him out. He scored twice on offensive putbacks before the first media timeout and was the only Hoosier to score in the first four minutes of the game.
Evan Mahaffey’s first three-pointer in 11 months
With Ohio State leading 27-24 and 4:23 remaining in the first half, Thornton slipped and fell, but was able to keep his dribble alive. He passed the ball to the only person near him — Mahaffey — with four seconds left on the shot clock.
Mahaffey tried a shot fake to get Luke Goode in the air, but it didn’t work, so Mahaffey had no choice but to rise up and shoot over him.
He sank it, with the ball snapping through the net just as the shot clock went off. It was his first three-pointer of the season and his first make since February 10, 2024. It put Ohio State up, 30-24.
Parrish’s great half
Micah Parrish was the most aggressive Buckeye in the first half, scoring a clean dozen on 5-of-7 shooting. He scored eight consecutive points for Ohio State at one point, and his steal and layup on the ensuing break tied things up 22-22 with just over six minutes remaining in the half. He did not settle in the first half and even drew several IU fouls at the basket as four different Hoosiers finished the opening frame with two or more.
Galloway’s absurd steal
Not even four minutes into the second half, Ohio State’s six-point lead had been cut to one point and Glover was trying to inbound the ball to Parrish in the corner nearest Ohio State’s bench. Glover tossed it up to Parrish, but Trey Galloway reached out and poked the ball in the air, jumped to grab it, and then called timeout right in front of the official as he fell out of bounds.
The ref gave Galloway the timeout, and the official scorer (deservedly) gave Galloway the steal and Glover his second turnover.
Goode set his career-high, puts Indiana up 10
After a Mobley three cut Indiana’s lead to just one point, the Hoosiers ripped off nine consecutive points to go ahead 68-58 — their largest lead of the game, with 5:12 remaining in the game. The final basket came on a long, step-back two-point shot by Goode, which gave him a career-high 20 points.
Mobley ties the game with his fifth three-pointer
After Galloway missed a three at the other end, Ohio State called timeout with 46 seconds remaining. Diebler drew up a play to get it to Mobley, who canned it to tie the game, 71-71, with 34 seconds left.
Goode’s fourth three puts Indiana up, 77-76
After Myles Rice missed a layup, Ballo grabbed his eighth offensive rebound of the game and kicked out to Goode in the far corner, who sniped his fourth three-pointer of the game to put the Hoosiers up by one points with 1:07 remaining on the clock.
What’s next?
Ohio State (10-8, 2-5) goes to Purdue on Tuesday night. The Buckeyes beat the Boilermakers last season in Jake Diebler’s first game as interim head coach, but Ohio State has not won at Mackey Arena since the 2017-2018 season.
The 17th-ranked Boilermakers (14-4, 6-1) are currently riding a six-game winning streak. They’re No. 14 in the NET rankings and No. 10 in KenPom’s rankings.
Ohio State’s game against Purdue is set to tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 21 and will be broadcast on Peacock.