Iowa dug itself a hole in the early part of the first half and almost found their way out but Bruce Thornton and the Buckeyes wouldn’t allow it to happen. Thornton hit three after three to put Ohio State up 16 with 13:55 left. After an Iowa timeout the Hawkeyes fought back behind Bennett Stirtz and defensive pressure. Unlike yesterday’s game though, nobody else scored in double digits for Iowa and yesterday’s star Cooper Koch was not a threat with only eight points. For much of the game Ohio State was shooting over 60% from the field and ended up shooting 55% while Thornton and center Chris Tilly kept Ohio State hot.
Overall, scoring was not the issue for Iowa. The Hawkeyes shot 50% from the field and 48% from deep in a commendable offensive showing. But Iowa’s defense left much to be desired. Like other games this season, it felt similar to comebacks against Nebraska and Michigan
The Hawkeyes trailed by 16 points in the second half but made it a one-point game with less than a minute to go. Iowa had two shots to tie the score with less than 10 seconds remaining — one by Brendan Hausen and another by Isaia Howard — but they weren’t able to convert.
The supporting cast supported Stirtz but often the offense looked stagnant, like everyone on the court was looking to him to make things move. Five other Hawkeyes scored at least eight points but nobody was able to step up and take charge.
Iowa held an advantage from beyond the arc, making four more 3-pointers than Ohio State. The Hawkeyes were efficient hitting 10-of-21 from behind the three point line while Ohio State was just 6-of-20. One of the biggest differences in the second half though was second chance points by Ohio State, especially down the stretch where the Hawkeyes had multiple chances to tie the game. The other glaring issue today was pointed out by head coach Ben McCullum at the post game press conference, noting the Iowa was just 6 of 13 at the rim today.
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