COLUMBUS, Ohio - Welcome to Value City Arena! Hard on the banks of the Olentangy River here in the state capitol of Ohio.
Indiana has had a rough couple of games. Two 25-point losses in a row at Iowa and then at home against Illinois have made Indiana fans restless. A road game might not seem like it should be the time for a turnaround, but Ohio State is struggling too and you never know which Buckeyes are going to show up. Sound familiar?
The vast Value City Arena is not the most difficult place to play in the Big Ten when Ohio State fans aren't engaged. The Buckeye faithful are distracted at the moment by Ohio State's advancement to the College Football Playoff championship game on Monday against Notre Dame. Be interesting to see what kind of turnout the Buckeyes get for this one.
* Injury update: By now, you may know that Malik Reneau and Bryson Tucker are out for the Hoosiers. Jack Ankony wrote about it in the pregame injury story.
The Buckeyes will be without Devin Royal, one of their leading scorers at 13.8 points per game. Meechie Johnson is out too, but that was not a surprise as he's been out for quite a while.
* Fans understandably really only care about how their own house is in order, sometimes believing the rain clouds are only above them. But of course, it doesn't work like that.
Ohio State has lost three of four. The one win they got was a very, very fortunate 89-88 double overtime win at Minnesota in which the Golden Gophers lost their heads and fouled up two in the final seconds of the first overtime.
So the Buckeyes (10-7) are reeling too, but there's one big difference. None of their three losses were by more than seven points. Not so for the Hoosiers.
* With no Malik Reneau, it will be interesting to see what, if any, adjustments are made. The Hoosiers need to do a much better job of putting Myles Rice in a better position to take advantage of his talent. It seems like he's sometimes left to his own devices at times. He can freelance, but he shouldn't have to.
A bounce back from Trey Galloway at a place where he demonstrated heroics a year ago would be a big lift. Obviously Mackenzie Mgbako, who hasn't shot better than 33.3% in the last three games, is overdue to play better.
* Right now, fans are taking issue with just about everything under the sun involving Indiana men's basketball. Many took issue with Luke Goode's postgame comments on Tuesday about fan loyalty.
I understand why people would be upset. Heard a certain way, Goode's comments can come off as out of touch with the vibe.
I also don't know what people would want him to say. The question he was asked was what message he would have for fans who lashed out at Tuesday's game. What's he supposed to say? Boo us more? We give up? We cry uncle?
Sometimes? A bit of the ability to put yourselves in someone else's shoes is the way to go. If you were Goode, what would you say?
* If it means anything (narrator: it doesn't), I've never covered an Indiana loss against Ohio State in men's basketball. I have one of the strangest careers as an Indiana beat writer. I've never seen the Hoosiers lose to either Ohio State or Michigan, but I've never seen them beat Northwestern. What kind of sense does that make?
* I'm just glad I made it over to Columbus this time. For the November football game, I hit a pothole on a bridge just west of Richmond (pushed out of the lane I was in by a drifting semi-truck) and had to turn around and limp home with a giant bulge in my tire. No such worries on today's drive ... at least I knew where that killer pothole was!
* First Ohio State basketball player you can think of who DIDN'T play in the NBA or ABA ... go! Mine is Jay Burson.
* Starters: Indiana - Oumar Ballo, Myles Rice, Anthony Leal, Mackenzie Mgbako and Luke Goode. Trey Galloway will come off the bench. No extra discipline for Rice or Ballo for the late-game incident against Illinois.
Ohio State - John Mobley Jr., Bruce Thornton, Micah Parrish, Evan Mahaffey and Sean Stewart.
* Just like last year's Indiana visit to Columbus, there are plenty of sections available at Value City Arena.
* It's a white out at Value City Arena. Ohio State wearing early 80s era throwbacks. Think the Clark Kellogg, Herb Williams period. Sweet look. Picture in top left panel.
* Players have been introduced. Pregame ceremonies are over. Let's go.