GAME NOTES: The 14th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers have made the trip to Columbus for a Big Ten Conference clash with the Ohio State Buckeyes this afternoon. Indiana is 19-3 overall, marking the best start for the program since the 1992-93 campaign. The Hoosiers showed a great deal of toughness on Thursday by beating Illinois in double-overtime by an 83-79 final. They are now 5-1 in true road games this season. As for Ohio State, it has won four of its last five games to move to 16-7 overall and 7-3 against Big Ten competition. The Buckeyes were last in action on Tuesday when they knocked off Michigan by a 65-55 final. They have played 13 home games so far, and 12 of those have resulted in victory. Indiana owns a 99-72 series lead over Ohio State, but the Buckeyes won the most recent meeting, 74-67, last season.

Indiana possesses one of the premier players in all of college basketball, as freshman Eric Gordon may be the most talented backcourt performer despite his youth. Gordon is scoring 21.6 ppg on the strength of his 41.3 percent shooting from three-point range and 84.9 percent accuracy from the foul line. D.J. White is another outstanding performer for the squad, as he is generating 17.5 ppg on 61.7 percent field goal efficiency. White is also ripping down 10.6 rpg to rank among the national leaders, and he has blocked 39 shots to date. Jordan Crawford (10.6 ppg) and Armon Bassett (10.4 ppg) round out IU's double- digit scorers. Gordon originally planned to attend Illinois but changed his mind in favor of Indiana, so when the Hoosiers visited Champaign on Thursday, the crowd did not give the rookie the warmest of welcomes. After a horrendous first-half showing, Gordon was much better in the second half and eventually hit a three-pointer to force the first overtime. He finished with a team-high 19 points in the win, and Crawford added 18 points off the bench.

In the 10-point win over rival Michigan earlier this week, Ohio State had five players who scored in double figures. Othello Hunter tallied 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Jon Diebler pitched in 14 points. Kosta Koufos and David Lighty added 12 points apiece, and Jamar Butler rounded out the group with 10 points. The Buckeyes limited the Wolverines to 40 percent shooting from the floor, key to the win. Butler is averaging 14.8 ppg this season on the strength of his 41.1 percent shooting from three-point range and 93.4 percent accuracy from the foul line. One of the best ball distributors in the nation, Butler also has 6.3 apg to his credit. Koufos has done an outstanding job of filling the void created by Greg Oden's early departure to the NBA. The big man is scoring 13.3 ppg to go along with 6.6 rpg and 43 blocks.

Give a narrow edge to Indiana in this clash despite the fact that Ohio State has played very well at home. The two best players for either team in this matchup are Gordon and White, and both wear a Hoosier uniform.