11^th seeded Ohio State led the majority the game and hung on late to defeat 6^th seeded Iowa State 62-59 to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament and move to 20-14 on the season.  Kaleb Wesson led Ohio State with 21 points and 11 rebounds and Keyshawn Woods added 19 and Musa Jallow 11 for the victorious Buckeyes.

Ohio State jumped out to an early 9-2 advantage forcing Iowa State to call timeout at the 16:15 mark.  The Cyclones stormed back to take their first lead at the 12:48 mark thanks to a 10-0 run.  A Keyshawn woods runner gave the Buckeyes the lead right back but a 5-0 Iowa State run forced Chris Holtmann to call timeout with 11:08 remaining and the Buckeyes trailing 17-13.  The Buckeyes battled back to tie it as the teams went into the under 8 media timeout with the score 17 apiece and 7:18 on game clock.  A Duane Washington triple from the left wing gave Ohio State a 3-point lead with 6:46 to go but a 2^nd foul on Kaleb Wesson at the 6:31 mark sent him to the bench for the half and gave the Cyclones an opening.  The Buckeyes extended the lead to 5 at the under 4 timeout, leading 25-20 with 3:41 remaining in the first half.  An Iowa State triple with 1:20 remaining cut the lead to 3 and ended a streak of 15 straight Cyclone possessions without a field goal.  However, the Buckeyes went into the break leading 26-24 in a defensive struggle.  Keyshawn Woods led Ohio State with 7 and Kaleb Wesson added 6 in the first 20 for Ohio State.  Marial Shayok led Iowa State and all scorers with 13.  The Buckeyes shot 35.7% from the floor in the first half while Iowa State shot just 29.6% from the floor.

The Buckeyes made a concerted effort to go to Kaleb Wesson early in the second half and it paid dividends with Ohio State maintaining a 3-point lead at the under 16 media timeout as the Buckeyes held a 33-30 lead and Wesson sitting at 10 points for the game.  Keyshawn Woods drilled a triple from the left wing and a Woods to Musa Jallow alley oop in transition gave the Buckeyes a 6-point lead and just under 14 minutes remaining in the basketball game.  An Andre Wesson dunk gave the Buckeyes a 7-point lead and 10:01 on the game clock but a 4-0 Cyclone run cut the lead to just 3 with 7:53 to go and the teams hitting the pine at the under 8 media timeout.  The Buckeyes maintained the lead and heading into the under 4 minute media timeout Ohio State was up 52-51 and Iowa State possessing the basketball.  Iowa State took their first lead since the 6:53 mark of the first half when Shayok hit a jumper but Ohio State answered with a 5-0 run after a Woods turnaround jumper and a triple from the left corner gave the Buckeyes a 4-point lead with 2:37 left.  The Cyclones scored on the ensuing possession and called a timeout with 2:19 to go and the Buckeyes up by 2.  A pair of Kaleb Wesson free throws gave Ohio State a 4-point lead, a lead they would hold until the 51-second mark when Chris Holtmann called timeout and the Buckeyes holding a 60-56 lead and possession of the basketball.  Ohio State used the entire shot clock and Woods missed a floater in the lane and Iowa State came right back and drilled a triple from the point to cut the lead to 1 and the Cyclones called a timeout with Ohio State leading by just a point and 21.1 on the game clock.  The Cyclones fouled Keyshawn Woods on the inbounds play and he calmly buried both the extend the Buckeye lead to 3 with 18.7 to go.  A foul on the Buckeyes put the Cyclones to the line but a missed front end and a Wesson rebound put him at the line with a chance to ice the game.  He missed the front end but an Iowa State 3 clanged off the mark to end the game as Ohio State survived and advanced to play another day.

Once again, the Kaleb Wesson effect was the difference.  Kaleb was able to get what he wanted on the inside and Keyshawn Woods, who has been a difference maker of late for this basketball team.  For Ohio State to slip into the sweet 16, they will need Key to continue to play at a high level and they will need more from CJ Jackson.  Musa Jallow provided a big lift offensively and on the glass. Getting the secondary scoring will be huge for Ohio State as they continue to attempt to advance and if they can take care of the basketball and play as connected on the defensive end they have a chance to advance.

The Buckeyes will play in the round of 32 on Sunday, tip time scheduled for 8:40 PM taking on the 3 seeded Houston Cougars to be televised on TNT.

-Jason Harris