Arc spark lifts Buckeyes past Hoosiers

The Buckeyes improved to 12-3.

COLUMBUS (AP) — William Buford scored 19 points and Ohio State caught fire behind the arc to beat Indiana 77-53 on Tuesday night.

Jon Diebler added 17 points, B.J. Mullens 14, Evan Turner 13 and Jeremie Simmons 12 for Ohio State (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten), which has split six games since starting 9-0. Simmons added eight assists, while Turner and Diebler each had five.

The Buckeyes took control by hitting 11-of-16 3-pointers in the first half. They made four consecutive shots behind the arc to start an 18-0 run that pushed the lead into double figures.

Tom Pritchard had 16 points and 11 rebounds, with Verdell Jones III adding 12 for the Hoosiers (5-11, 0-4), who lost their seventh in a row.

Indiana came into the game last in the Big Ten in defense against 3-pointers. Ohio State finished 13-of-24.

Ohio State has hit more 3-pointers in a half only once before — 12 at Michigan three years ago.

Down by 16 at the break, the Hoosiers got as close as 47-34 by scoring six of the first eight points, but got no closer the rest of the way.

The Buckeyes broke out to a 44-28 halftime lead, with three-quarters of their points coming from behind the arc. They hit eight of their first nine 3-pointers.

Undermanned Indiana trailed just 15-10 after Malik Story’s short jumper at the 13:35 mark. But the Buckeyes reeled off the next 18 points to take control. The first four baskets in the run were 3-pointers — two by Buford and one each for Diebler and Simmons.

The Hoosiers were 0-for-6 with two turnovers while drawing a blank for almost 61‚Ñ2 minutes.

The game pitted two of the youngest teams in the country. The Buckeyes don’t have a senior on the roster and do not have a current player who saw action as recently as two seasons ago. Meanwhile, Indiana, scarred by NCAA violations under the regime of the fired Kelvin Sampson, started four true freshman and a junior.

Before the game, Ohio State disclosed that Nikola Kecman would miss the remainder of the season after sustaining a torn ligament in his left knee during Monday’s practice.

Kecman, a 6-foot-8 transfer from Eastern Arizona College, played well in his only game before the injury.