Ohio State, Round II.

Ohio State Buckeyes

Current record: 14-5 (4-4)

Current RPI: 22

Current Sagarin: 28

Current Pomeroy: 48

2007-08 record: 24-13 (10-8) (won NIT)

2007-08 RPI: 46

2007-08 Sagarin: 21
2007-08 Pomeroy: 29

Series: IU leads 101-72

Last Ohio State win: 1/13/2009 (77-53 in Columbus)

Last IU win: 2/26/2008 (72-69 in Bloomington)

Last OSU win in Bloomington: 2/21/2004 (59-56)

Pomeroy scouting report

TV: 4 pm, ESPN2

IU plays its first repeat customer of the Big Ten season this afternoon. IU's loss in Columbus, along with the loss at Illinois, was one of IU's two completely non-competitive games of the seven Big Ten losses. After a strong nonconference season, OSU has gone 4-4 in the Big Ten, with a 1-3 road record and a home loss to Michigan State. Pomeroy projects OSU to finish 9-9 in the conference, so a loss today could lead to some uneasiness in Columbus about the Buckeyes' NCAA prospects. In the first IU-OSU game of the season, the Buckeyes, especially Jon Diebler, ended the game early by making 11 three pointers in the first half.

The Buckeye defense, a strength of the team early in the season, has fallen back to the pack a bit, particularly in Big Ten road games. Although OSU still ranks #34 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, the Buckeyes' 1.02 points per possession allowed in conference games is middle-of the-pack (IU, of course, is comfortably worst in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Still, this promises to be a struggle.

See Eleven Warriors for the OSU perspective.