D.J. White and Eric Gordon finally got Indiana a signature win.

White scored 21 points and had 13 rebounds and Gordon hit a number of big shots to lead the 14th-ranked Hoosiers past Ohio State 59-53 on Sunday.

It was the first red-letter win for the Hoosiers (20-3, 9-1 Big Ten) - much maligned for their light schedule - against a team higher than No. 49 in the RPI ratings. The Buckeyes (16-8, 7-4) came in at No. 32.

Gordon finished with 15 points, hitting four free throws in the final minute to keep Ohio State at bay.

Jordan Crawford contributed seven assists without a turnover and also had six rebounds to go with eight points for the Hoosiers, who won their third in a row and remained in a tie for the conference lead.

Kosta Koufos had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Buckeyes, and Jon Diebler added 14 points.

Ohio State, in dire need of a marquee win of its own to prop up its NCAA tournament hopes, was its own worst enemy. The Buckeyes had three air-ball 3-pointers down the stretch - all by freshmen - after they had pared a 12-point deficit to six or fewer points in the waning moments.

Jamar Butler, fifth in the Big Ten in scoring (Eric Gordon is first, White second) coming in, was limited to four points on 2-of-8 shooting. He did have six assists, but misfired on all five of his shots behind the arc.

The constants for the Hoosiers - who shot only one free throw until the final 30.4 seconds - were White and Gordon.

The Buckeyes cut into a 10-point deficit to draw to 31-29 in the opening 4 minutes of the second half. But then Gordon drove the lane for a nifty hesitation layup, shifting hands in mid-air, White hit a 10-foot turnaround jumper, Armon Bassett made a 3-pointer and Kyle Taber, making only his second start of the season, had a tip-in to push the lead to 40-29.

Koufos and Diebler scored Ohio State's next 13 points, pulling the Buckeyes to within 46-42 on Koufos' spin move around White with 8 minutes left. But the two-time defending Big Ten champs never got closer.

Each time they got within four points, the Hoosiers had an answer.

Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson inserted Kyle Taber in the starting lineup because Jamarcus Ellis and Bassett were late for a team meeting on Saturday.

Early in the second half, Ohio State's David Lighty was going for a loose ball when he crashed into official Ted Hillary, knocking him to the floor. Play was held up for a couple of minutes while Hillary dusted himself off. He returned for the rest of the game.

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