If someone placed the 0-7 Big Ten record and the matchup-zone defense of the Indiana women’s basketball team on opposite sides of the scales of justice, Ohio State coach Jim Foster figures the two would balance out perfectly.

Each is equally dangerous in his mind as the ninth-ranked Buckeyes (19-1, 6-1) prepare to play the Hoosiers (5-15 overall) tonight at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.

“That’s all nonsense,” Foster said when asked about Indiana’s record. “You go play. Players understand it. Immature teams don’t understand it. Mature teams do understand. And this team, despite its age, is maturing.”

With the conference reaching the midway point of its 16-game season, “maturing” is the hope of every coach in the Big Ten.

To date, Ohio State has looked its age only during a 73-62 loss at Michigan on Jan. 7.

“They’ve only had one blip when we didn’t get it,” Foster said. “And it was more of a life lesson than it was a team lesson.”

The Buckeyes shot poorly in that game, fell behind by double figures and didn’t have time to catch up after the light flashed on. And that brings us to the matchup zone favored by Indiana coach Felisha Legette-Jack.

Two seasons ago, the Hoosiers upset a ranked Ohio State team at Assembly Hall with the same spider-web defense that invites perimeter shots with an abundance of time still left on the shot clock.

“Fool’s gold is early threes,” Foster said. “You’re open, so people shoot. The ball hasn’t been reversed or moved. You’re not in position for a rebound.”

Practice this week has focused on resisting the temptation to shoot from long distance.

“I thought we’ve had two great days of ball movement and not taking the first available shot, and not even the second and the third,” Foster said.

“(The shot) ends up being that much better, and you’re in position to rebound.”

Recent history at Assembly Hall, at least for senior point guard Samantha Prahalis, is another reason to heed Foster’s warnings.

“That last time we were there, we lost,” said Prahalis, the conference Player of the Week for last week. “That was my sophomore year. We played terrible and we lost. And we don’t want to take anybody lightly. Our minds have to be above that. We have to be tight, and we have to be ready to play.”

Of concern, Prahalis added, is that Illinois scored 84 points on Sunday and joined Michigan and Northwestern as Big Ten teams that have shot better than 50 percent from the field against the Buckeyes this season.

“We’re playing well, but we could tighten up our defense more,” Prahalis said. “We have to communicate better and maybe attack the ball better on rebounds. It’s just little things, but it’s little things that mean big things in big games.

“We don’t want anyone shooting 50 percent against us. I mean, we look at that stuff. It’s not like we brush it off and forget it. We win, yeah. But down the line when it’s one game and you lose and you’re out, it matters.”

jmassie@dispatch.com