COLUMBUS, Ohio — Indiana coach Archie Miller and Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann directed traffic about 15 feet apart near halfcourt during Tuesday's Big Ten matchup at Value City Arena.
Miller wore a blue suit coat, gray pants, white shirt and red tie. Holtmann sported a matching gray suit, blue shirt and, of course, a nearly identical red tie. The looks re-emphasized there will be no predetermined dress code for the next chapter of this Big Ten basketball rivalry, but there will always be a tie that binds these first-year coaches.
"I think Indiana-Ohio State has always been a good basketball rivalry and that goes back a very long time," Miller said. "In my time at Indiana, very short, we're trying to grow and build and as we grow and build. We're trying to get Indiana back to a place where it means something when we're coming to town. Ohio State is trying to do the very same thing."
Both sides will do that in time. No. 17 Ohio State owned this meeting 71-56, a victory that continued a surprise season in which the Buckeyes (19-5, 10-1) are in the hunt for a Big Ten championship. It also dropped the Hoosiers (12-11, 5-6) down the conference standings. This wasn't, by any means, a night where Indiana-Ohio State meant everything.
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Ohio State hit seven of its first nine shots and had four players hit double figures. It built a 15-point halftime lead that held for the final margin. Indiana didn't have an answer two days after an emotional 74-67 home loss to Purdue.
"They played a rivalry game on Sunday," Holtmann said. "The reality is that's a really tough turnaround."
Other than a brief loose-ball scrum between Juwan Morgan and C.J. Jackson, there wasn't much drama Tuesday. That doesn't mean there won't be between two coaches who will stay intertwined as they try to make progress at these traditional Big Ten programs. Holtmann did his best to downplay that after this one.
Wait and see is the best answer right now.
"I'll really kind of leave that up to fans at both programs and that story and storyline and narrative," Holtmann said. "My responsibility is to coach these guys as well as I can."
Ohio State's Jae'Sean Tate skies over the Hoosiers. (Ohio State Athletics)
Miller was rumored to be in the hunt for the Ohio State job, but Indiana hired him away from Dayton after letting Tom Crean go last offseason. Holtmann, meanwhile, left Butler after Thad Matta's unexpected resignation June 5.
This isn't the first time coaches in this rivalry have crossed state lines. Matta, who won 337 games as Ohio State's coach, played and coached at Butler before leading the Buckeyes to a steady run of success that moved them closer to the program's first national championship since 1960. Of course, Bob Knight was a member of that Ohio State squad as a player before he won three more national titles as Indiana's coach.
If Ohio State gets another Matta, then fans will be thrilled. Indiana, however, has just one Final Four appearance since Mike Davis took over for Knight for the 2000-01 season. The Hoosiers had three Sweet 16 appearances under Crean, but they also failed to make the NCAA Tournament in five of nine seasons.
Indiana also just hit the second leg of a triple whammy in its 2017-18 schedule: Purdue, Ohio State and Michigan State. The loss dropped the Hoosiers to 1-5 against ranked teams this season.
"They set the tone very early with their physicality on both ends of the floor and knocked on us our heels pretty quick and we were working uphill from there the rest of the night," Miller said. "We have to raise our level."
Miller knows there will be more installments because he knows how it works in this region. If the Ohio River touches one or both states, then it's a rivalry. Holtmann and Miller could elevate it back to prominence.
There's enough on each coach's resume to say it will heat up. That starts with recruiting.
"Ohio is No. 1," Holtmann said Monday. "(Miller) and his staff are from Ohio so I'm sure they will focus here, too, given it's a bordering state. Our staff has some connections in Indiana. There will be some crossover there. I'm sure there will be battles for years to come."
That, in turn, will make the battles on the court much better.
Indiana and Ohio State have played just one top-10 matchup since 2000, when the Hoosiers beat the Buckeyes 81-68 on Feb, 10, 2013. That's a far cry from the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons when all four regular-season matchups were high-scoring top-10 showdowns that determined the Big Ten champion.
Fans were reminded during the pregame video montage Tuesday. Buzzer-beaters by Jim Jackson and Perry Carter. Lawrence Funderburke clutching a basketball on the floor after an 81-77 victory on Feb. 23, 1993. Of course, Knight wearing that red sweater. That dress code wasn't optional back then.
There's a long way to go before it gets back to that point, yet Holtmann and Miller coached to the last minute Tuesday, even after the game was decided. Holtmann toed the court while directing Keita Bates-Diop's last pass. Miller stood with his hands on his hips.
They threw out the usual compliments toward each other in the postgame press conferences. Miller used "awesome" when talking about Holtmann, and Holtmann returned the favor with "outstanding" for Miller.
As for a rivalry? Ohio State did its part with this 15-point victory; now it's on Indiana to respond.
"I suspect that we will, hopefully, have some better games from our standpoint when we go up against them," Miller said.
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"I think they can still make a run this year," Holtmann said. "Yeah, for sure, I would expect they will be very good in the coming years."
In other words, expect Indiana-Ohio State to become a lot closer — and hotter — in the near future.