Usually losing when outrebounded, Indiana defied the trend to defeat Ohio State.

Bloomington, Indiana: If rebounding statistics were all that were needed, Ohio State ought to have defeated Indiana handily on Saturday night. At Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, the Buckeyes had a 49-27 rebounding edge over the Hoosiers; but, Indiana prevailed 71-65 because to big games from CJ Gunn, Xavier Johnson, and Malik Reneau. Although Indiana coach Mike Woodson was pleased with the victory, he is aware that if the Hoosiers don’t improve on their rebounding, they might not have as much luck in the future.

“You’re not going to beat a lot of teams in the Big Ten with that kind of margin in terms of rebounding,” Woodson said. “We got away with it tonight, but have to be much better as we go to Rutgers.” Ohio State’s sophomore center Felix Okpara gave Indiana the most trouble on the glass. He grabbed 15 rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end. Senior forward Jamison Battle grabbed nine, and even sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. crashed the boards for six rebounds. Ohio State forwards Evan Mahaffey and Zed Key combined for seven offensive rebounds. The Assembly Hall crowd certainly noticed this disparity, as rebound after rebound was met with loud groans of frustration. Woodson reasoned that some of the difference was a result of funny bounces off the rim, mostly after long caroms from Ohio State’s 7-for-27 3-point shooting. But he’s demanding more from the Hoosiers’ front court.

“The big fella, Felix [Okpara], he had a lot to do with it,” Woodson said. “He kept balls alive. I told [Kel’el] Ware and Malik [Reneau] they were awful tonight in rebounding the basketball. Their bigs basically kicked our butts in terms of going to the glass.” Rebounding isn’t everything, but history says the team that wins the battle on the glass wins the game more often than not, especially in the Woodson era. Indiana entered Saturday’s game with a 10-20 record under Woodson when opponents finished with more rebounds. In those 20 losses, Indiana’s average margin of defeat was 12.4 points, and the Hoosiers suffered 11 losses by at least 14 points. In the 10 wins, Indiana’s average margin of victory was 5.2 points. The Hoosiers won one of those games by 17 points, but six of those wins were by three points or less.

Prior to the win over Ohio State, here’s a list of games from the last three seasons under Woodson in which Indiana was outrebounded by its opponent, depicting how rare Saturday’s win was given the rebounding disparity. 2023-24 SEASON (1-2) Auburn 36-32 rebound advantage, Indiana lost 104-76 UConn 43-17 rebound advantage, Indiana lost 77-57 Wright State 37-36 rebound advantage, Indiana won 89-80 2022-23 SEASON (5-8) Miami (FL) 45-29 rebound advantage, Indiana lost 85-69 Penn State 37-30 rebound advantage, Indiana lost 77-73 Michigan 41-33 rebound advantage, Indiana won 75-73 in overtime Iowa 37-27 rebound advantage, Indiana lost 90-68 Purdue 44-29 rebound advantage, Indiana won 79-71 Michigan State 30-22 rebound advantage, Indiana lost 80-65 Illinois 36-35 rebound advantage, Indiana won 71-68 Michigan 29-27 rebound advantage, Indiana won 62-61 Purdue 36-21 rebound advantage, Indiana won 79-74 Iowa 35-31 rebound advantage, Indiana lost 91-89 Kansas 34-30 rebound advantage, Indiana lost 84-82 Arizona 38-30 rebound advantage, Indiana lost 89-75 Rutgers 42-32 rebound advantage, Indiana lost 63-48 2021-22 SEASON (4-10) St. Mary’s 36-25 rebound advantage, Indiana lost 82-53 Illinois 34-33 rebound advantage, Indiana won 65-63 Purdue 36-32 rebound advantage, Indiana lost 69-67 Rutgers 31-27 rebound advantage, Indiana lost 66-63 Wisconsin 34-29 rebound advantage, Indiana lost 74-69 Michigan State 39-32 rebound advantage, Indiana lost 76-61 Northwestern 43-34 rebound advantage, Indiana lost 59-51 Illinois 29-28 rebound advantage, Indiana lost 74-57 Penn State 31-26 rebound advantage, Indiana won 74-57 Michigan 34-23 rebound advantage, Indiana lost 80-62 Purdue 34-26 rebound advantage, Indiana won 68-65 Iowa 31-27 rebound advantage, Indiana lost 83-74 Penn State 37-28 rebound advantage, Indiana lost 61-58 St. John’s 34-31 rebound advantage, Indiana won 76-74