Ohio State falls to Indiana

Ohio State's Deshaun Thomas, left, posts up against Indiana's Will Sheehy during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Columbus. Indiana defeated Ohio State 81-68.

COLUMBUS — No. 10 Ohio State's hopes of winning a fourth straight Big Ten title took a major hit today with a 81-68 loss to top-ranked Indiana at Value City Arena.

Junior forward Deshaun Thomas scored a team-high 26 points, but received little help on an afternoon that steadily got away from the Buckeyes. Indiana used a 17-10 run to take a 41-33 halftime lead and built its advantage to 16 midway through the second half.

Indiana guard Victor Oladipo led IU with 26 points while forward Cody Zeller added 24.

OSU fell two games behind league-leading Indiana (20-3, 8-2 Big Ten) and Michigan State (20-4, 9-2). The defeat marked the Buckeyes' first back-to-back losses since January, 2010 — a national-best streak dating to January, 2010, when national player of the year Evan Turner was sidelined with a back injury.