Indiana University Athletics
Saturday, March 7
Columbus, Ohio
5:30 PM
Indiana University
18-13,9-11Big Ten
78
at
91
Ohio State
20-11,12-8Big Ten
1
2
F
Indiana
33
45
78
Ohio St.
50
41
91
Indiana Drops Regular Season Finale at Ohio State
3/7/2026 9:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The regular season is over. Indiana has some Big Ten tourney work to do.
The aftermath of Saturday's 91-78 loss at Ohio State left the Hoosiers' postseason hopes resting on a big tournament performance next week at Chicago's United Center.
"The regular season is over," coach Darian DeVries told Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer during the post-game radio show. "Now you have to win games. We have to get home and get ready. We have to do our part, win and keep winning as long as possible."
IU (18-13 overall, 9-11 in the Big Ten) ended the regular season with losses in five of its last six games. A 70-percent second-half shooting stretch got the Hoosiers within range of a dramatic comeback. A 24-point deficit became 10. Suddenly, there was a chance.
Then a four-point Buckeye play ended it.
"They never quit," Darian DeVries told Fischer. "They continued to battle. I'm proud of them for that, but we're here to win games. We built too big of a hole."
Guard Lamar Wilkerson paced the Hoosiers with 18 points. Tucker DeVries added 17 points and five rebounds. Forward Sam Alexis had 14 points. Guard Conor Enright and forward Reed Bailey each had 12 points.
The Hoosiers shot 55 percent from the field with 15 assists against 12 turnovers.
Ohio State (20-11, 12-9) was led by Bruce Thornton's 25 points and seven assists. He surpassed 2,100 career points to become the Buckeyes' all-time career scoring leader.
Ohio State was 11-for-24 on 3-pointers and 22-for-25 from the line.
IU was 5-for-18 on three-pointers and 17-for-21 on free throws.
"We got off to a great start," Darian DeVries told Fischer, "but the last six to seven minutes of the first half was a killer for us. They hit a bunch of 3s, made some layups and extended that lead to 17. That was such critical part of the game. Now you get to the second half playing out of a deep hole.
"It was too big a hole to climb out of."
IU made a 5-0 game-opening statement. Alexis scored off a guard Nick Dorn assist. Wilkerson made three free throws. Ohio State countered with a 6-0 run.
Consecutive Hoosier turnovers helped Ohio State go on an 8-0 run for a 16-8 lead. The Buckeyes pushed ahead 25-14 at the 10-minute mark. Wilkerson responded with a three-point play. Then came a Bailey three-point play, a Dorn 3-pointer and an Enright basket to bring IU within 28-25.
Ohio State hit eight of its last nine shots to take a 50-33 halftime lead. Wilkerson led the Hoosiers with 10 points. IU was 1-for-8 on 3-pointers. Ohio State was 8-for-13 beyond the arc. Two fouls limited Alexis to just five minutes.
An 11-2 second-half surge helped the Hoosiers cut a 24-point deficit to 15. Tucker DeVries made a pair of free throws and then a layup cut the lead to 81-70 with four minutes left. An Alexis three-point play got IU within 10 points, but no closer.
Devin Royal's four-point play (a 3-pointer and a free throw) ended the Hoosier rally.
"We really batted and got it down to 10," Darian DeVries told Fischer. "We wanted Royal to shoot it and then he knocks it down and gets the lead back to 14. That was the last big push we were able to get."
Indiana heads to next week's Big Ten tourney as the No. 10 seed. It will play Wednesday.
"We have a lot of motivation going into the Big Ten Tournament to show what we can do," Bailey said.
IUHoosiers.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The regular season is over. Indiana has some Big Ten tourney work to do.
The aftermath of Saturday's 91-78 loss at Ohio State left the Hoosiers' postseason hopes resting on a big tournament performance next week at Chicago's United Center.
"The regular season is over," coach Darian DeVries told Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer during the post-game radio show. "Now you have to win games. We have to get home and get ready. We have to do our part, win and keep winning as long as possible."
IU (18-13 overall, 9-11 in the Big Ten) ended the regular season with losses in five of its last six games. A 70-percent second-half shooting stretch got the Hoosiers within range of a dramatic comeback. A 24-point deficit became 10. Suddenly, there was a chance.
Then a four-point Buckeye play ended it.
"They never quit," Darian DeVries told Fischer. "They continued to battle. I'm proud of them for that, but we're here to win games. We built too big of a hole."
Guard Lamar Wilkerson paced the Hoosiers with 18 points. Tucker DeVries added 17 points and five rebounds. Forward Sam Alexis had 14 points. Guard Conor Enright and forward Reed Bailey each had 12 points.
The Hoosiers shot 55 percent from the field with 15 assists against 12 turnovers.
Ohio State (20-11, 12-9) was led by Bruce Thornton's 25 points and seven assists. He surpassed 2,100 career points to become the Buckeyes' all-time career scoring leader.
Ohio State was 11-for-24 on 3-pointers and 22-for-25 from the line.
IU was 5-for-18 on three-pointers and 17-for-21 on free throws.
"We got off to a great start," Darian DeVries told Fischer, "but the last six to seven minutes of the first half was a killer for us. They hit a bunch of 3s, made some layups and extended that lead to 17. That was such critical part of the game. Now you get to the second half playing out of a deep hole.
"It was too big a hole to climb out of."
IU made a 5-0 game-opening statement. Alexis scored off a guard Nick Dorn assist. Wilkerson made three free throws. Ohio State countered with a 6-0 run.
Consecutive Hoosier turnovers helped Ohio State go on an 8-0 run for a 16-8 lead. The Buckeyes pushed ahead 25-14 at the 10-minute mark. Wilkerson responded with a three-point play. Then came a Bailey three-point play, a Dorn 3-pointer and an Enright basket to bring IU within 28-25.
Ohio State hit eight of its last nine shots to take a 50-33 halftime lead. Wilkerson led the Hoosiers with 10 points. IU was 1-for-8 on 3-pointers. Ohio State was 8-for-13 beyond the arc. Two fouls limited Alexis to just five minutes.
An 11-2 second-half surge helped the Hoosiers cut a 24-point deficit to 15. Tucker DeVries made a pair of free throws and then a layup cut the lead to 81-70 with four minutes left. An Alexis three-point play got IU within 10 points, but no closer.
Devin Royal's four-point play (a 3-pointer and a free throw) ended the Hoosier rally.
"We really batted and got it down to 10," Darian DeVries told Fischer. "We wanted Royal to shoot it and then he knocks it down and gets the lead back to 14. That was the last big push we were able to get."
Indiana heads to next week's Big Ten tourney as the No. 10 seed. It will play Wednesday.
"We have a lot of motivation going into the Big Ten Tournament to show what we can do," Bailey said.
Team Stats
IND
OSU
FG%
.549
.592
3FG%
.278
.458
FT%
.810
.880
RB
21
24
TO
12
11
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's BasketballIUBB v OSU Highlights
Saturday, March 07
IUWBB Postgame vs. Ohio State (BTT)
Thursday, March 05
IUWBB Postgame vs. Nebraska (BTT)
Thursday, March 05
IUWBB Highlights vs. Nebraska (BTT)
Wednesday, March 04