Buckeyes Upset No. 15 Indiana – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score| Quotes| Notes | .PDF Box Score
Post Game Press Conference Audio
Ohio State Head Coach Jim O’Brien
Indiana Head Coach Mike Davis
By RUSTY MILLER
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State’s basketball team let the national championship football team take the spotlight at halftime. The Buckeyes stole it back later.
Balancing a punishing inside game with guard Brent Darby’s 28 points, the Buckeyes beat No. 15 Indiana 81-69 Saturday night.
Shun Jenkins, whose career best coming in was seven points, had 22 points and seven rebounds for Ohio State (8-5, 1-1 Big Ten), while Zach Williams added 13 points and seven rebounds.
The Buckeyes improved to 12-3 against ranked teams at Value City Arena.
The Hoosiers (11-3, 1-1), who had won three in a row, suffered through a miserable night of 3-point shooting and on the boards. They were 9-of-34 on 3s and – despite leading the Big Ten in rebounding coming in – were outrebounded 41-32.
At halftime, coach Jim Tressel’s 14-0 football team presented the national championship trophy to Ohio State President Karen Holbrook. A capacity crowd stood and cheered for several minutes as quarterback Craig Krenzel, defensive lineman Will Smith and Tressel each spoke briefly.
The basketball Buckeyes didn’t see any of the ceremonies but fed off the crowd in expanding a 35-25 halftime lead to as many as 18 points.
The Buckeyes led 48-30 after Williams’ three-point play with 15:12 left. The Hoosiers pulled to 64-53 on Jeff Newton’s 3-pointer with 3:14 left. Williams hit two foul shots before Tom Coverdale made 3-pointers on consecutive Indiana trips down the floor to make it 67-59 with 2:46 remaining.
Ohio State came right back with Jenkins scoring on a power move inside off a fast-break feed from center Velimir Radinovic, with Radinovic then making two free throws after an Indiana missed shot.
Jenkins’ was the Buckeyes’ only field goal over the final 6 minutes.
With the Hoosiers forced to foul, the Buckeyes scored 15 of their final 17 points at the free throw line. For the game, they were 27-of-38 to the Hoosiers’ 12-of-18.
Bracey Wright led the Hoosiers with 20 points and Coverdale had 18 points and six assists and Newton added 16 points.
Kyle Hornsby, averaging 9.0 points, missed all nine of his shots from the field including eight 3-point attempts.
Darby was 5-of-7 on 3s and 9-of-10 from the line even though he played with a deep thigh bruise sustained in the Buckeyes’ 66-55 loss at No. 25 Michigan State on Thursday night.
Darby became the 41st Buckeye to top 1,000 career points when he hit a 3-pointer at the 16:47 mark of the first half.
Starting point guard Brandon Fuss-Cheatham did not play because of a swollen left knee. The Buckeyes were also without starting center Terence Dials, out with a stress fracture of the lower back.
Before the game, the 2002 Big Ten tournament championship banner was unfurled from the rafters.
