Indiana's Yogi Ferrell is licking his lips for this matchup with Ohio State. The Hoosier scored 26 and shot 9-for-16 from the floor last season in Indiana' 82-70 loss. The Hoosiers will be looking for revenge as they host Ohio State this time around.
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HOW THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Without James Blackmon Jr., the Hoosiers have a significant hole in the backcourt. While Indiana is one of the best offensive teams in the nation, it's offensive output was stunted in Tuesday's matchup with Wisconsin after scoring just 59 points despite averaging 85.9 PPG for the season.
Defensively, the Hoosiers are allowing the opposition to convert at a 43.3 percent clip from the floor.
Ohio State isn't that strong of an offense, scoring just 71.8 PPG, but the defense should have a strong case against a Blackmon-less Hoosiers team that was held under 60 points last time out.
Individually, the Buckeyes are healthy. They also have a deep frontcourt with forwards Marc Loving, Keita Bates-Diop and Jae'Sean Tate. The issue for Ohio State is the backcourt, but Kam Williams is shooting over 50 percent from the floor and nearly 45 percent from the behind the arc while JaQuan Lyle is an excellent ball handler with 81 assists on the season.
The Buckeyes are also riding high with seven straight wins and a 4-2 ATS record over their last six games. Indiana, meanwhile, has dropped three of its last four against the closing number.
HOW THE INDIANA HOOSIERS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Indiana's offense took a hit with Blackmon going down, but the Hoosiers are still a highly ranked offense and are matching up with a team that's averaging just 71.8 PPG.
By comparison, Indiana is up to 85.9 PPG and ranks in the top-10 in the nation in scoring as well as shooting percentage with a 53.2 field goal percentage and 44.9 percent mark from 3-point range.
The Hoosiers' offense struggled against Wisconsin, but the team still boasts three players with at least 11.9 PPG even without Blackmon. The game against the Badgers should be more of an outlier than a sign of things to come.
The team's scoring leader is guard Yogi Ferrell who, alongside Robert Johnson and Nick Zeisloft help cover the gap left by Blackmon. The team scored 79 points in the first two games without Blackmon and Ferrell put up 24 against Nebraska last Saturday.
On the year, Ferrell is scoring 17 PPG and has a team high 93 assists. In the front court, Indiana has a trio of players including Troy Williams, Thomas Bryant and Max Bielfeldt. Bryant is shooting 73 percent from the floor and leads the team in blocks with 20. Williams, meanwhile, has averaged 12.6 PPG.
With eight straight wins, Indiana has found a way to overcome the loss of Blackmon, but it's just a matter of time until the oddsmakers catch up.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The Hoosiers offense hasn't eclipsed 80 points in three straight games and likely won't again against the Buckeyes. Ohio State is too good defensively to expect a depleted Indiana to go off, but the Hoosiers are too good offensively-namely Ferrell-to expect them to roll over.
The Hoosiers are at home and that gives them the edge in this one. Ohio State beat Indiana last year, shooting 62.3 percent from the floor, but they won't be able to repeat that in this one. They're also a weaker offense since D'Angelo Russell left.
Bank on Indiana capturing its ninth straight win with Ohio State unable to match up with the Hoosiers offensively.
Indiana 79, Ohio State 72
Access live betting lines from your mobile device or tablet at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker's live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The Ohio State Buckeyes and Indiana Hoosiers square off on Sunday, January 10, 2016, at 1:30 p.m. ET at Assembly Hall. The matchup will be televised live on CBS.
