Ohio State kept its NCAA tournament hopes alive, never trailing and downing 7th seeded Iowa 90-78 in Minneapolis to advance to the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals against Illinois tomorrow evening. With the loss, Iowa dropped to 19-14 and is likely eliminated from tournament consideration and will most likely surface in the NIT. Ohio State lives on to fight another day, winning their 5th straight, improving to 20-12 for the program’s 18th 20+ win season in the last 20 years. Jamison Battle exploded for all of his game high 23 points in the second half to go along with 9 rebounds as Ohio State pulled away. The Buckeyes dominated all facets of this game, out shooting the Hawkeyes 52% to 42%, including 11 of 20 from beyond the arc compared to 8 of 21 for Iowa. The Buckeyes assisted on 18 of their 41 made buckets and out rebounded Iowa 42-36 and utilized their bench depth to outscore Iowa 37-16 from their subs. In addition to Battle, Ohio State got 14 from Bruce Thornton to go along with 6 rebounds and 9 assists, 11 from Scotty Middleton and 10 from Roddy Gayle. Iowa was led by Peyton Sandfort’s 19 and 13 each from Tony Perkins and Ben Krikke and Owen Freeman added 10. 

It was another fast start for the Buckeyes. Ohio State opened the scoring with a short jumper in the paint by Evan Mahaffey and after Iowa tied it with a bucket, Bruce Thornton buried a three from the right wing. The Buckeyes extended the lead when Roddy Gayle got to the rim off the bounce and scored and it grew by three more when Thornton buried another one forcing Iowa to call a timeout with the Buckeyes leading 10-2 and 16:01 left in the first half. A pair of Hawkeye buckets out of the timeout trimmed the lead, but Zed Key scored mid-paint with a half hook to end the mini run. Iowa split a pair of free throws and Ohio State answered with a Scotty Middleton triple from the right corner. Back to back Iowa threes and a transition bucket tied the game, but Devin Royal worked from the left corner and got near the lane and dropped in a jumper through contact ending the 8-0 Iowa run and the stoppage in play sent the teams to their benches for the under 12 media timeout and Ohio State leading 17-15. Royal’s free throw out of the timeout fell off the mark, but a steal and triple by Dale Bonner extended the Buckeye lead to 5. A driving layup by Iowa cut into the lead, but Okpara scored with a short left-handed jumper to answer. Another Middleton triple extended the lead, but Iowa answered with a three of their own. The Buckeyes came right back as Thornton split the defense off the bounce and left a pass for Okpara who finished with a flush to put Ohio State back up 7. Iowa split a pair of free throws, but on the other end Middleton hit a 10 foot pull up jumper and at the under 8 media timeout, Ohio State led 29-22. The Buckeyes struck quickly out of the timeout as Key caught a baseline inbounds pass and laid it in, but Iowa answered with cut the 9 point lead to 3 with a 6-0 run. Ohio State ended the run when Gayle hit a jumper on the left baseline as he was hit and his free throw completed the old-fashioned three point play and put the Buckeyes ahead by 6. An Iowa triple cut it back to 3, but a Taison Chatman triple from the left corner answered. After an Iowa deuce, Gayle drilled a step back three from the left wing and at the under 4 minute media timeout, Ohio State led 40-33. A 5-0 Iowa run cut the lead to just 2 with less than a minute to play, but another Middleton triple stopped the run and extended the lead. Jake Diebler took a 30 second timeout with 28 seconds to play to get his defense set up with Ohio State leading 43-38. Iowa’s late attempt at a score was blocked by Gayle who flipped the loose ball to mid court where Iowa retrieved and a midcourt attempt at the horn clanged off target as the teams hit the locker room with the Buckeyes holding a 43-38 lead. Both teams shot it at a high level with Ohio State hitting on 61%, including a red hot 8 of 11 from three and Iowa knocked down 54% of their attempts with 5 of 9 three’s falling through the cylinder. The Buckeyes dominated the glass, out rebounding the Hawks 17-11 and had a huge advantage in bench points, out scoring Iowa 23-7 from the reserves. Scotty Middleton came off the bench to score a game high 11 in the first half and Roddy Gayle added 8. Iowa was led by Peyton Sandfort’s 9. 

Jamison Battle drilled a three to open the second half scoring, but Iowa answered with a heavily defended three of their own. After a Thornton triple, Iowa scored the next 5 before a pair of Battle free throws gave Ohio State a 5 point lead. An Iowa bucket cut back into the lead and an Iowa foul brought the game to the under 16 media timeout and with 15:19 to play, Ohio State led 51-48. Out of the timeout, Royal hit a baseline jumper off the baseline out of bounds play and after Gayle hit a runner off the window, Ohio State led by 7. An Iowa bucket cut back into the lead, but a pair of Royal free throws answered. A baseline inbounds play led to a Battle lay in, but an Iowa baseline in bounds play led to a lay in on the other end. Four Battle freebies sandwiched a pair by Iowa to put Ohio State up 63-54 at the 12 minute media timeout. Two Iowa free throws cut into the lead, but a pair of Key buckets had Ohio State up 11 with just over 10 ½ to play. Two pairs of Iowa free throws trimmed the lead to 7, but Battle grabbed an offensive rebound and scored as he was fouled to halt the Hawkeye momentum. The ensuing free throw dropped to complete the three point play and extend the lead to 10. After Iowa hit a mid-paint jumper, Battle buried a left corner three. Iowa scored the next 3 prior to the under 8 media timeout and with 6:58 to play, Ohio State led 73-65. Out of the timeout, Thornton drilled a pair of free throws to put Ohio State up 10 and after a defensive stop, Thornton hit a jumper just above the stripe. Iowa split a pair of free throws and scored with a dunk in transition to trim the lead back to 9, but a pair of freebies by Thornton was split and Ohio State led by 10. An offensive foul on Iowa took the game to the final media timeout and with 4 minutes to play, Ohio State led 78-68. Out of the timeout, Battle rebounded his own miss and scored off the glass and after an Iowa bucket, Ohio State turned it over against the full court press and another Iowa deuce cut the lead to 8. Ohio State broke the press and got it up floor quickly to a wide open Royal, who flushed it home. Two more Battle free throws put Ohio State up 12 with under 2 to play. Iowa split a pair of free throws and Iowa began the foul game with 1:42 to play as Bonner was fouled in the backcourt. Bonner split the pair and on the other end Iowa hit two. Ohio State broke the press quickly as Gayle inbounded it to the other end of the floor, hitting a streaking Battle who finished with a dunk and Jake Diebler took a timeout with 1:11 to play and Ohio State leading 87-75. A transition lay in by Bonner after an Iowa miss extended the lead, but an Iowa three dropped on the other end, but it would be too little too late for the Hawkeyes. Bonner split a pair of free throws to complete the scoring in the Buckeye win. 

Who saw this coming? Left for dead in mid February, 6 wins in 7 games under Jake Diebler and suddenly Ohio State has 20 wins and sits what most believe, one win from getting into the NCAA Tournament. Coach Diebler has these guys playing connected on the defensive end, aggressive on the glass and with a pace that we have been begging to see all year long. They are a very dangerous team right now and they truly believe they can beat anyone. For the second straight year, Ohio State ends Iowa’s Big Ten Tournament run and the Diebler magic lives on. They have a big opportunity tomorrow evening and will need to bring the same intensity for 40 minutes to beat a very talented Illini team, who beat Ohio State by 12 in Columbus on January 30th. Boasting 2 first team All Big Ten performers in Marcus Domask and Terrence Shannon, the task is large but if the Buckeyes continue to play at the level they have been playing the past month, they certainly have a chance. Until then, they will rest their legs and get ready for a big one tomorrow. 

Ohio State hits the floor again tomorrow night in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, playing 2nd seeded Illinois. Tip time is scheduled for 6:30 PM and airing on BTN.

-Jason Harris