MEN
play. Coach Chris Holtmann said it’s been in the arsenal all season for a situation such as the one Indiana (13-11, 4-9) presented. Just as importantly, Jackson and Wesson executed it perfectly.
“That’s about a 10 out of 10 and it rarely happens for you as coaches, honestly, where you get exactly late what you’re trying to get,” Holtmann said. “Been very few in my coaching career.”
Indiana’s Romeo Langford missed a try at a go-ahead three-pointer at the other end, Luther Muhammad hit one of two free throws with 8.8 seconds left and Devonte Green’s lastsecond three came up empty to set the final score.
It was a thrilling finish to a close but often ugly game. Ohio State didn’t trail despite four significant Ohio State’s Kaleb Wesson shoots over Indiana’s Juwan Morgan during the first half. Wesson finished with 15 points.
scoring droughts of 4:50, 4:20, 3:18 and 2:49 until Indiana took its only lead when Green hit a step-back three-pointer over Keyshawn Woods for
a 52-49 lead with 1:46 remaining.
With the crowd roaring, Jackson hit a tying three with 1:11 to play.
“I saw the shot clock winding down, and based on how the flow of the game was and we were down three, we kind of needed something so I stepped right into it and shot it,” Jackson said.
Trying to answer, Juwan Morgan threw an ill-advised pass toward Langford in the paint that was poked by Musa Jallow — a Bloomington native who never received a scholarship offer from Indiana — and stolen by Andre Wesson. The Buckeyes called a timeout and drew up the winning play.
As the final buzzer sounded, Assembly Hall went nearly silent as the Buckeyes celebrated. Moments later, the sound of the Buckeyes singing the “Buckeye Battle Cry” inside the locker room echoed down the hallway.
“It feels like we’re kind of getting our stride back that we had earlier in the season,” Jackson said. “A lot of teams won’t come in here and pull out wins because of the team they are and the environment they have, so this one definitely feels good for us, especially for having a young team.”