Buckeyes Humble No. 25 Hoosiers, 73-67 – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan 19, 2002
Box Score| Quotes| Notes
Post Game audio:
Head Coach Jim O’Brien
Indiana Head Coach Mike Davis
By RUSTY MILLER
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State can’t be overlooked anymore.
“Our guys deserve to get respect,” Buckeyes coach Jim O’Brien said Saturday after a 73-67 upset of No. 25 Indiana moved Ohio State into first place in the Big Ten.
Brian Brown had a career-high 26 points and freshman Terence Dials scored 10 consecutive points down the stretch.
“That’s the biggest game I’ve ever played,” Dials said. “I’m glad I had a part in it.”
Brown hit 10 of 13 shots from the field, five of six foul shots and also had six rebounds, three assists and two steals. He hit all four of his free throws in the final 24.2 seconds to hold off the Hoosiers (11-6, 4-1).
Unranked and underestimated all season, the Buckeyes (14-2, 5-0) won their eighth game in a row overall and their 12th consecutive conference game.
“Seasons have peaks and valleys,” Brown said. “Right now we’re a hunted animal because we’re on top.”
Ohio State also improved to 10-2 against ranked teams in Value City Arena.
Brown scored six of Ohio State’s final seven points, but it was Dials who gave them the lead for good.
“The guys in the locker room told me that halfway through the year you’re no longer a freshman,” the 6-foot-9 Dials said. “That’s how I feel.”
Indiana led 53-50 on Jared Jeffries’ unguarded 3-pointer with 10:11 left, but the Buckeyes came back behind Brown. He slashed across the lane for a layup and then, after Tom Coverdale missed shots on back-to-back possessions, drove the lane again for a basket and then hit a 15-footer to put Ohio State ahead 56-53.
“I felt we needed to get a basket and I had to slice and dice to get it,” Brown said.
The Hoosiers tied it as Jarrad Odle made a jumper for the last of his 16 points and Jeffries hit the second of two free throws.
On three successive trips down the floor, however, Dials scored baskets.
“Dials has no ego whatsoever,” O’Brien said. “He’s just happy to be a contributor. He’s not looking for shots but he has a sense of where to be.”
Jeffries, who finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Hoosiers, countered with a pair of foul shots but Dials scored when Jeffries was called for goaltending.
“I got excited during that stretch,” Dials said.
Dials’ putback with 1:27 left made it 66-63.
“Dials played very well,” Indiana coach Mike Davis said. “The offensive rebounds he got late in the game were very big.”
Brown’s two free throws and layup after an Indiana turnover gave Ohio State a seven-point lead and the Hoosiers never got closer than five again.
“They played defense hard all of the game,” Indiana’s Dane Fife said. “I didn’t think we had trouble at either end of the floor, but we just allowed a couple of rebounds at the end.”
Indiana was dogged by foul trouble with Fife, the Hoosiers’ third-leading scorer, playing just 11 minutes in the second half because of four fouls. Odle had three fouls for the final 12 minutes.
“Their strength is our weakness,” Davis said. “They’re a good team off the dribble and we’re not a great defensive team off the dribble. Not having Fife for long periods of time really hurt us. He’s our best defender – Brian Brown had seven points at halftime and he comes back for 26 in the game.”
Brent Darby added 11 points for Ohio State, which is 5-0 in the Big Ten for the first time since opening with seven wins in 1991.
Dials also had eight rebounds as the smaller Buckeyes held a 34-24 edge on the boards.
“Once again he was a man on the defensive boards,” O’Brien said. “He finished around the basket. He’s coming on. He really gives us a lift.”
Coverdale finished with 12 for the Hoosiers, who had a four-game winning streak end.
