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Indiana’s bubble dream still has a sliver of hope after win over Ohio State

Will Sheehey, Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell

Indiana guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell (11) talks with Indiana forward Will Sheehey during a break in play against Ohio State in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Bloomington, Ind. Sunday, March 2, 2014. Indiana won 72-64. (AP Photo/R Brent Smith)

AP

Will Sheehey followed up a 30-point performance in the win over Iowa with 19 points, six boards and four steals and Yogi Ferrell finished with 20 points as Indiana knocked off their second straight ranked team, beating No. 22 Ohio State 72-64.

It sets up an interesting situation for the Hoosiers.

Hypothetically speaking, let’s say the Hoosiers beat Nebraska at home and Michigan on the road in their final two regular season games. If that happens, we’ll be looking at a team with four top 20 wins, five top 50 wins and eight top 100 wins. Those four sub-100 losses are ugly, and the fact that Indiana did bupkis in the non-conference is a red flag, but given how weak the bubble is, that’s a resume that has to be in the conversation.

A 9-9 finish in the Big Ten would probably get Indiana to sixth seed in the Big Ten tournament, meaning that a win over one of the league’s bottom-feeders would give the Hoosiers another shot at either Michigan State or Wisconsin. That’s still a long way away, but if Indiana makes it to the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament, that might be enough to earn a bid.

That feat doesn’t look quite as crazy after Sunday. Indiana beat an Ohio State team that matches up exceptionally well with them despite playing without star freshman Noah Vonleh, whose battling a foot issue.

Indiana started the afternoon 4-for-16 from the floor with seven turnovers in the first 12 minutes, scoring 60 points in the final 28 minutes against the Buckeyes’ stout defense, getting driving lane and creating open threes.

And while that’s a positive for Indiana, it’s just as big of a concern for Ohio State. They are not a ver good team offensively. They can really struggle to score at times, meaning that they need to be good defensively if they are going to do any damage in March.

They weren’t good defensively on Sunday.