The Ohio State men’s basketball team traveled to Iowa City Tuesday night to play the Iowa Hawkeyes while their Scarlet & Gray football brethren took the field in the Sugar Bowl. Although it was a home game for the Hawkeyes, and therefore brought some expectation of a tough challenge for the Buckeyes, Iowa came out much stronger than expected and the Buckeyes quickly found themselves in a dogfight that lasted through to the end of the game. Fortunately, solid play from Aaron Craft running the show at the point and another great performance from Jared Sullinger allowed Ohio State to come away with the victory.
The Hawkeyes were able to keep it close in the first half thanks largely to forward Melsahn Basabe, who led all scorers with 16 at the end of the first. Overall the Hawkeyes were ahead 35-29 at the half, and certainly did not look like the team that struggled throughout their pre-conference schedule. The Buckeyes were shooting a decent percentage from the field at 50%, but were hurt by 11 turnovers and weren’t displaying the high-powered offense that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing.
Ohio State came out with renewed energy and two big shots from Jared Sullinger to start the second to pull the game within two. After an Iowa made free throw, William Buford knocked down a three from the top of the key to tie it up, and after Sullinger added another two to his total the Buckeyes were suddenly rolling. However, Iowa wasn’t ready to go away quietly, and quickly regained the lead.
Around the 13-minute mark Ohio State finally began to open up a lead, with Sullinger taking over in the paint and reaching the 20-point threshold on the night. The defensive intensity picked up noticeably, and Diebler further extended the lead with his third and fourth treys of the game. Ohio State took advantage of their lead by slowing down the pace, taking their time to get the ball across the timeline, and then patiently working the ball around until a good shot opened up.
Iowa made a final run as the game drew closer to its conclusion, getting within three with only 25 seconds remaining, but simply ran out of time before they were able to complete the comeback. The Hawkeyes could not consistently stop the Buckeyes on defense down the stretch to decrease the margin, and both David Lighty and William Buford demonstrated good control on a couple plays to hit big shots and seal the win. Sullinger finished the game with 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Diebler added 14 for the Buckeyes. Basabe had 22 for the Hawkeyes.
While this game was another loss for Iowa on the season, there were definitely some positives that could be taken away from the game for them. They showed the potential to hang tough with one of the best teams in the country, and will likely claim some victories over other ranked opponents in the Big Ten this year. Fran McCaffery seems to be doing a nice job guiding the team in the right direction.
For the Buckeyes, this may have served as a timely reminder that every game will be a battle in the Big Ten this season, and they must come prepared every night. It was good to see the team get down early, fight to keep up, and then make adjustments to respond in the second half and take over. It was especially good to see a focus on defense as the team scraped their way into the lead, and only four turnovers in the second half compared to the relatively poor showing in the first.
The Buckeyes next play on Sunday, hosting the Minnesota Golden Gophers in Columbus.
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