If the Ohio State men’s basketball players was at all threatened by the idea of taking on another nationally ranked opponent in their Big Ten Conference home opener this weekend, they certainly didn’t show it.
The Buckeyes (8-5,1-1 Big Ten) upset the No. 15 Indiana Hoosiers (11-3,1-1) 81-69 in front of this season’s first sellout crowd at the Schottenstein Center Saturday night.
OSU led by as many as 17 points in the second half, powered by a three-man post rotation that dominated the Buckeyes’ offensive effort and confused Indiana’s defense.
Junior forward Shun Jenkins delivered a breakthrough performance in only his second start for the Buckeyes this year, recording a career-high 22 points. Jenkins, who replaced injured sophomore Terence Dials in the starting lineup, said his coaches recognized a mismatch in the paint and told Jenkins to take advantage of it.
“They tried to put a smaller guy on me, and O’Brien saw that,” Jenkins said. “They went to me a lot, and I was able to make some shots.”
Junior forward Zach Williams, who gave Jenkins support under the basket, chipped in 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
“I think going with the new lineup with the three big guys we kind of exploited the match-up,” Williams said. “I feel like it’s a real important win for this ball club,” he said.
Jenkins’ contributions couldn’t have come at a better time for the injury-plagued Buckeyes. They were without sophomore point guard Brandon Fuss-Cheatham, who continues to suffer from knee inflammation.
Senior guard Sean Connolly, in his first game back from a sprained ankle and OSU’s second leading scorer, was limited to only five points.
Jenkins’ offensive output provided some relief for the Buckeyes, whose only points from the bench were from junior Emonte Jernigan’s five free throws late in the game.
“We knew coming in they said he (Shun) was a Big Ten player,” Williams said. “He did some good things for us on the offensive end today.”
Senior guard Brent Darby had another impressive outing for OSU, leading the team with 28 points, 18 coming in the first half. It was a career night for Darby as well, who became the 41st player in OSU history to score 1,000 career points. Darby nailed five of seven from three-point range and hit nine of 10 free throws.
The new post-oriented lineup was key in fending off the Hoosiers, whose more deliberate pace helped the Buckeyes avoid fatigue, which has been a significant factor all season.
“It gave us an opportunity to get back in our zone,” Darby said. “It’s helping us conserve energy because we’re not chasing a lot of people off screens.”
Bracey Wright, Indiana freshman guard, was the team’s leading scorer with 20 points. Senior point guard Tom Coverdale, who is known for his pesky defense and lethal three point shot, was held scoreless by OSU until late in the first half.
Coverdale led a late Indiana rally with back-to-back threes deep in the second half, but the Hoosiers never came within nine points. OSU nailed 27 of 38 free throws to keep Indiana at bay until time ran out.
Aside from the Buckeye victory, a short pregame ceremony was held for OSU tri-captains Darby, Connolly and Williams to raise the 2002 Big Ten Championship banner to the rafters of the Schottenstein Center.
A halftime celebration was also held to honor the 2002 National Championship Ohio State football team.
OSU football coach Jim Tressel received a standing ovation from the crowd as he presented the championship trophy to president Karen A. Holbrook.
