The Ohio State Buckeyes saw a crucial road opportunity slip away in a frustrating loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday night. Ohio State jumped out to a fast start, building a 14–2 lead just five minutes into the game, but Iowa quickly seized momentum with a massive turnaround. The Hawkeyes responded with a 21–1 run to take control, ultimately outscoring the Buckeyes 33–9 over the remainder of the half to take a 37–23 lead into the break, the Buckeyes’ lowest first half scoring output of the season. Ohio State briefly cut the deficit to 10 early in the second half, but Iowa quickly regained control and pulled away for a 74–57 victory. The loss drops Ohio State to 17–11 overall and 9–8 in conference play, while Iowa improves to 20–8, 10–7, strengthening its NCAA Tournament resume.
Iowa shot 57 percent from the field despite going just 5 of 18 from three-point range, while holding Ohio State to 42 percent shooting even though the Buckeyes connected on 7 of 14 from long range. The Hawkeyes also dominated in several key hustle areas, outrebounding the shorthanded Buckeyes 28–23 while Ohio State was missing Christoph Tilly. Iowa forced 11 turnovers, converting those into 15 points, and controlled the paint, outscoring Ohio State 44–18 inside on the way to a convincing home win
Ohio State was led by Devin Royal’s 16 points and John Mobley’s 15 points, while Bruce Thornton added 10 points after being held scoreless in the first half for the first time in more than two years. Bennett Stirtz paced Iowa with 22 points, while Alvaro Folgueiras added a season-high 20 points. Cam Manyawu contributed 12 points and Tavion Banks added 10 in the winning effort.
1st Half
It took almost two and a half minutes before either side cracked the scoreboard, and when someone finally did, it was John Mobley knocking down a three from the right wing. He followed that with another deep triple from the top of the key before Iowa answered with a pair of free throws. Devin Royal then attacked the left baseline for a powerful dunk, and Amare Bynum drained back-to-back threes to cap the surge. Just over five minutes in, Iowa was forced to burn a timeout with Ohio State firmly in control, 14–2.
Iowa finally recorded its first field goal of the game, converting an and-one opportunity and knocking down the free throw to chip away at the early Buckeye advantage. After Devin Royal split a pair at the line, the Hawkeyes scored on consecutive possessions, trimming Ohio State’s lead to 15–9 heading into the under-12 media timeout.
Out of the timeout, Iowa went right back to the free-throw line and finished off a three-point play that began before the break. What had been a comfortable 12-point Ohio State cushion suddenly shrank to five as the Hawkeyes capped an 8–1 run. The surge didn’t stop there. Iowa extended it to 13–1 to pull even before the 10-minute mark, then buried back-to-back threes to seize its first lead of the night. With the momentum completely flipped and Iowa having outscored the Buckeyes 19–1 since the 14:42 mark, Jake Diebler was forced to call timeout to halt the avalanche as Iowa was now ahead 21-15.
Two Iowa free throws upped the run to 21-1 before Taison Chatman drilled a three from the left corner. Iowa scored the next 8 to build their largest lead forcing Ohio State to take another timeout with the Hawkeyes now leading 31-18 and just under 3 minutes to go in the half.
Iowa pushed the margin further with a transition bucket before Devin Royal answered, banking one in from the right block. Royal chipped away again by splitting a pair at the line, but the Hawkeyes responded with two free throws of their own. John Mobley drew a foul on the other end, earning a trip to the stripe and calmly converted both, yet Iowa had the final say of the half, scoring just before the break to carry a 37–23 advantage into the locker room.
Ohio State started the night red-hot but cooled off dramatically, finishing the half at just 32 percent from the field despite knocking down 5 of 9 from beyond the arc. Iowa shot an efficient 54 percent overall, going 3 of 9 from three-point range. The rebounding battle was nearly even at 14–13 in favor of the Hawkeyes, but six Buckeye turnovers turned into seven Iowa points, and the damage inside was decisive — Iowa outscored Ohio State 20–4 in the paint. Mobley led the Buckeyes with eight points, while Bennett Stirtz paced Iowa with 10.
2nd Half
Devin Royal opened the second half with a pair of baskets, with an Iowa three-pointer splitting the two scores. Ivan Njegovan then stepped into a three from the top of the key, trimming the deficit to 10 less than two minutes into the half. With the Buckeyes gaining early momentum and the lead narrowed to 40–30, Iowa was forced to call timeout.
Iowa answered immediately out of the timeout, converting an and-one to halt Ohio State’s early push. Moments later, the Hawkeyes came up with a steal — appearing to get away with contact — and turned it into two more points on the other end. John Mobley finished at the rim off a sharp feed from Ivan Njegovan to momentarily stop the bleeding, but Iowa responded with back-to-back baskets, stretching the lead to 49–32 and forcing Ohio State to burn another timeout with 16:07 remaining.
A controversial blocking foul call on Amare Bynum prevented Iowa from turning the ball over, and the Hawkeyes capitalized by drawing another foul and converting a pair of free throws while Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler came close to picking up a technical foul in frustration. Ivan Njegovan helped slow the momentum with a dunk off a feed from John Mobley, and after an Iowa turnover, Bruce Thornton finally got on the board by driving the baseline and finishing through contact. However, Thornton missed the free throw that could have cut the deficit further, and Iowa responded with a tip-in on the other end. Mobley then knocked down a three-pointer to keep Ohio State within reach, but at the under-12 timeout, the Hawkeyes still held a 53–39 lead.
Iowa opened action out of the break by knocking down a pair of free throws before Bruce Thornton responded with a tough scoop finish off a drive to the basket. The Hawkeyes answered right back with a three-pointer to maintain control of the game. John Mobley then drew a foul on a three-point attempt and made two of the three free throws, cutting the deficit to 15, but with under 10 minutes remaining, Ohio State was running out of time.
Iowa then ripped off eight straight points to push the lead even further, forcing Jake Diebler to call another timeout as the game continued to slip away. By the 7:25 mark, the Hawkeyes were firmly in control, leading 66–43 as the Buckeyes’ comeback hopes faded.
Devin Royal hit a short baseline jumper to snap Iowa’s 8–0 run, but the Hawkeyes quickly answered with two more free throws to maintain control. Amare Bynum scored from the right block and Bruce Thornton followed with a running finish to trim the deficit to 19, but Iowa again responded with an easy basket to halt the mini run. Thornton then converted two free throws, and Royal added two more at the line to pull Ohio State within 17 but with just 4:18 remaining. Iowa scored again inside to push the margin back out, and at the final media timeout, the Hawkeyes held a 72–53 lead.
Thornton hit two free throws out of the timeout and Royal added two more as Thornton left the game to end his night. Iowa scored again off the bounce as the Hawkeyes cleared their bench and there would be no more scoring in a flat out embarrassing performance by Ohio State.
Game Wrap
Ohio State’s NCAA Tournament hopes suffered a significant blow with a disappointing performance. The Buckeyes came out strong early and appeared poised to pull away, but Iowa quickly flipped the script and took control, never allowing Ohio State to regain its footing. The Hawkeyes, who had dropped three of their previous four games entering the matchup, looked far more dominant than their record suggested, while the Buckeyes struggled to match their intensity or execution. It was a difficult night for Ohio State, which was outplayed in nearly every phase of the game when everything was at stake and clearly missed the injured Christoph Tilly for a team that seemingly deals with injuries or sickness every game.
With the loss, Ohio State has now dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season and faces a critical challenge ahead with No. 8 Purdue next on the schedule. A victory would have significantly strengthened their NCAA Tournament resume, but the manner of the loss, not just the result itself, left the Buckeyes with major ground to make up. With three games remaining, Ohio State will likely need to win out to keep its postseason hopes alive, making the path to March considerably more difficult. It is win to get in at this point and they will have to quickly flush this one and hopefully come up with a signature win on Sunday.
Box Score
*Official statistics provided courtesy of the University of Iowa and Statbroadcast
Ohio State returns to Columbus for its penultimate home game of the regular season, and it doesn’t get much bigger than this. The Buckeyes will host No. 8 Purdue on Sunday afternoon in what shapes up as a critical Big Ten showdown. With postseason hopes at stake and a marquee opportunity on the line, tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. on CBS.
-Jason Harris