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Evan Turner should have a better game this time around. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

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The Buckeyes travel to Bloomington, Indiana tomorrow to face the Hoosiers for the second time this season.  The first time saw the Buckeyes in a much different position looking forward.  Having lost their first two Big Ten games at Wisconsin and at Michigan, the Buckeyes earned a brief home respite before hitting the road again on a two game stretch at Minnesota and at Purdue.  It was already pretty well known that the Buckeyes would be able to handle Indiana, but with the lack of Evan Turner who had already sat out 6 games (in which the Buckeyes went 3-3) it was a question of how well the team would perform against a conference bottom feeder.

Previous matchup pregame.

Previous postgame recap.

The surprise, however, was the sudden return of Evan Turner to the lineup.  After breaking his back against Eastern Michigan it wasn't expected that he would return until late January or early February.  Turner surprised everyone by making a ridiculously speedy recovery and returning to action.  His first game back wasn't spectacular - 8 points on 2-5 shooting with 4 rebounds and 5 assists - but his return sparked some great play from Jon Diebler (21 points, 5-8 from three) and William Buford (16 points, 6 rebounds).

The Buckeyes stomped on Indiana 79-54 that night and suddenly the world seemed right again.  Since that game, the Buckeyes have gone 7-1 in the Big Ten, including winning the last 7 straight against solid competition (Wisconsin, at Purdue).  Indiana, on the other hand, has gone a dismal 2-7 after winning their first Big Ten game against Michigan.  Compared to the season they had last year (6-25, 1-18 in conference*) this has been substantially better, but it's obviously still not up to snuff for the Indiana faithful.

After a brutal three game losing streat (at Ohio State, Illinois, at Michigan), Indiana succeeded in beating Minnesota in Bloomington by a score of 81-78.  They needed a comeback and an overtime period to do it, but they managed to secure the win.  Verdell Jones III exploded on the gophers for 24 points, the vast majority of which came from the free-throw line as he went 13-19.  19 free throws is usually on the short end of average for a team, it's not often you see an individual shoot that many.

The very next game, the Hoosiers secured another win by beating the Nits in University Park, PA 67-61. Verdell Jones III had another good game scoring 14, but Guard Devan Dumes  came off the bench to score a team high 15 on 5-12 shooting (3-7 from three).  It wasn't enough to compare to Talor Battles 22 points, but it was enough to grab the win.  Unfortunately it would be the last one Indiana fans would see so far.

Indiana has now played four straight losses in the Big Ten - Iowa (58-43), at Illinois (72-70), Purdue (78-75), at Northwestern (78-61).  Something very important to notice here is that the Hoosiers are playing awfully good basketball against the upper echelon teams in the conference.  Tom Crean is clearly getting his team motivated very well for the tough ones, trying to secure an elusive upset victory in order to motivate his team to greater heights.  It's only a matter of time until he succeeds.

The Buckeyes could be walking into a trap here.  The way the Buckeyes have been playing the last few games (with the exception of Minnesota), it seems like Indiana might be able to take advantage of a sluggish Ohio State team and secure their big upset win.  The key is not in Verdell Jones III who will score points no matter what you do - sort of the Talor Battle of the Hoosiers.  The key is stopping the Indiana bench scoring, particularly Devan Dumes.  If the Buckeyes can play solid defense the whole game, and negate the Indiana depth off the bench, this should go well for Ohio State.

Dumes, though, will be up for the challenge I'm sure.  He scored 11 in both games against Illinois and Purdue which was the difference in those games.  11 points isn't usually enough to be game leading, but it's more than enough to be game changing.  If you start hearing Dumes' name a lot during the game tomorrow watch out, it's gonna be a close one through the bitter end.

The game will be played tomorrow (February 10^th) in Bloomington, Indiana at 6:30 pm Eastern Time.  You'll be able to see the game on the Big Ten Network.