[Postgame 3-2-1] What We Learned From Indiana's Overtime Victory At Ohio State
Here are three stats, two additional observations, and one lingering question from Indiana's 77-76 victory over Ohio State.
COLUMBUS — Indiana Basketball traveled to Columbus on Friday evening to face off with the Ohio State Buckeyes in a game that both teams desperately needed.
After seeing a 10-point second half lead disappear, Indiana found a way to earn a victory in overtime with a 77-76 win, advancing to 14-5 and 5-3 in Big Ten play.
“We’re sitting here, we’ve won 14 games, man. 14-5. It’s not like it’s 5-14. We’ve played some pretty good basketball and had some good stretches,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “The two games we just didn’t … we got our asses beat those two games. Ain’t nothing you can do about it now. We just got to try to stay away from games like that, hopefully we’ll get Malik back soon.”
With the win, Indiana improves to 14-5 and 5-3 in conference play.
Here are three stats, two additional observations, and one lingering question from Indiana's 77-76 victory against Ohio State.
Did you miss yesterday's edition of the postgame show?
3 Meaningful Stats
1. Indiana trailed by 6 at the half
Myles Rice picked up two quick fouls in the game's opening minutes, leaving the Hoosiers without their starting point guard for three-quarters of the first half.
Indiana shot 33 percent from the field, including a bleak 1-of-9 clip from behind the three-point line, and went into the locker room with just 29 points.
However, the defense kept Indiana in the game. After surrendering 60 first-half points on Tuesday against Illinois, the defense — spearheaded by a spirited effort from Kanaan Carlyle — held the Buckeyes in check.
The Buckeyes shot 46.2 percent from the field in the half, but Indiana forced six Ohio State turnovers, leading to a dozen points for the Hoosiers.
The defense did a massive service to the struggling offense, keeping the team within striking distance heading into the half.
2. Ballo played 40 minutes
There has been a lot of noise about Oumar Ballo in his first season in an Indiana uniform, both on and off the court.
Ballo’s effort has been questioned at times in the first three months of the season; however, the Arizona transfer played a complete game on Friday night.
The 7-footer tallied 40 minutes on the floor, marking the second time in his five-year career that the Malian reached that threshold.

Though it was more minutes than he usually sees, Ballo would not be deterred, scoring 21 points and 15 rebounds in the Hoosiers’ second road victory of the month.
“My teammates did a good job finding me,” Ballo said. “We knew they were gonna double. Early they didn’t double and I made some shots and started being doubled and I was finding Luke on the weak-side and some guys were making shots. I’m just happy we got the win.”
3. Indiana finishes with 10 turnovers
A common theme in Indiana's four losses has been the painful amount of giveaways. In the losses, the Hoosiers have turned the ball over an average of 17.8 times.
Indiana’s ball security was a departure from the past two games, turning the ball over just 10 total times in the 45 minutes of play.
Myles Rice’s foul trouble left Indiana without its starting point guard for two-thirds of the game. However, Kanaan Carlyle, Trey Galloway, and Anthony Leal took care of the basketball in the backcourt, not allowing many opportunities for the Buckeyes to get points off turnovers.
Carlyle’s struggles have been evident since the turn of the year, but his 13 points in 36 minutes were much needed, especially without Rice. Carlyle finished with zero turnovers, something Woodson was excited to see.

“I just hope he bottles it up and, you know, carries it forward. You know, these games are coming awfully quick, and you can’t run from it,” Woodson said. “I’m gonna need Kanaan and the supporting cast to play at a high level, man, because that’s how you win on the road, and then you’ve got to go take care at home.”
2 Important Observations
1. The second half was a microcosm of Indiana’s season
Though it trailed by six to open the second half, Indiana got off to a strong start and ultimately build a commanding lead.
Following Luke Goode's jumper to extend Indiana's lead to 68-58 with 5:12 left in the game, Ohio State fans were headed toward the exits.
The Hoosier bench was full of swagger, and it appeared as if Indiana was going to erase a six-point halftime deficit to get an all-important conference victory on the road.
However, the Indiana offense went ice cold, not scoring a single field goal in the final three minutes of regulation.
The Buckeyes offense battled back, finishing regulation with on a 13-3 run capped off by a John Mobley Jr. triple with less than a minute left, erasing a ten-point Indiana lead.
Oumar Ballo missed two shots from point-blank range in the waning seconds, sending Indiana to its first overtime period of the 2024-2025 season.
2. Goode and Leal played hero in overtime
After Tuesday's debacle in Bloomington, Luke Goode and Anthony Leal spoke to the media, explaining that Indiana needed to play with pride to turn the season around.
The overtime period was back and forth, but Goode nailed his fourth triple of the game to give Indiana a 77-76 lead with 67 seconds left in the five-minute frame.
The scoreline remained unchanged for Ohio State's final possession when John Mobley Jr. was blocked by Anthony Leal ahead of Bruce Thornton's miss at the buzzer.
Leal played hero last year in Columbus on offense, but this year, his defense led his team to its second road victory of the month.

“We got a group of guys in that locker room with a lot of pride. They wear that jersey with pride, and sometimes things don’t go according to plan,” Woodson said. “I thought tonight, considering where we’ve been the last two games, they fought their asses off to help us win this basketball game. It was a total team effort, man.”
It was fitting that the two Indiana natives who called their team out on Tuesday solidified the victory three days later.
1 Lingering Question
Can Indiana ride the wave of momentum?
Wednesday morning’s question was where Indiana was headed after a second-straight 25-point defeat. Today’s question has us doing a complete 180.
Friday night’s victory provided a much-needed breath of fresh air to the Indiana basketball program, which was booed off its own floor a couple of nights before.
It’s always tough to win on the road in the Big Ten, so squeaking out a one-point victory on the road can create momentum. But how far can the momentum of a thrilling win take a team that has had extreme peaks and valleys this season?
The next time the Hoosiers will take the floor is on Wednesday in Evanston against Northwestern. Welsh Ryan Arena is starting to become similar to the Kohl Center in Madison as a house of horrors for Indiana. It will be a tall task, but a win on the road in the Windy City — which would represent Indiana’s third Quad 1 road win — very well could change the direction of the season.
We didn’t get home till about 9:30. After taking care of some stuff, I sat down and started the game. Kanaan and Luke played great, as did Oumar. The picture above of Ballo swatting a miss out to the guards was a great hustle play. A bit nervous when we lost a 10 point lead at the end and then started the overtime so slowly. Didn’t get to bed until after midnight!