Indiana Is Toppled In Columbus Again

When they took the court against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, Saturday night, the Indiana Hoosiers were undefeated and ranked No.1 in the nation. The Hoosiers made 50 percent of their shots from the floor and outrebounded Ohio State decisively, 35-18. They also connected on more field-goal attempts than the Buckeyes, 27 to 23.

The final score: Ohio State 70, Indiana 67. ''I don't think we've ever had an opening Big Ten game more disappointing than this,'' Coach Bobby Knight of the Hoosiers said yesterday on his weekly television show over WTTV in Bloomington, Ind. ''I don't think there was a point in the game when we played for any length of time like we wanted to win. I was disappointed at our mental effort.''

Coach Eldon Miller of Ohio State (9-2), which won for the seventh straight time, called the result ''our best victory so far, in fact our only 'best game' of the season.''

Miller pointed to the Buckeyes' strong defensive game, 22-of-25 free-throw shooting and the sharp ball-handling of a speedy, threeguard offense as factors that offset Indiana's domination under the boards.

''Rebounding is just one factor in basketball,'' Miller said by phone from Columbus. ''We'll probably lead the league in nonrebounding. We are not dominant physically and we are predominantly a young team. In the future, we'll have to get a better factor than minus 17 in rebounding to win.'' 4-Guard Rotation

In the backcourt, Miller rotated four guards, Larry Huggins, a senior who connected on a pair of 3-point field goals, and a trio of sophomores - Ron Stokes, Troy Taylor and Dave Jones. That quartet sank 11 of 17 field-goal attempts, 15 of 17 free throws and contributed 10 assists. In contrast, Indiana's four guards totaled 15 points.