Iowa accomplished what 11 teams had previously tried and failed to do on Saturday: beat the Buckeyes on their home court.
The Hawkeyes put an end to No. 18 Ohio State’s longest home win streak in seven years, as Keegan Murray poured in 24 points to help the Hawkeyes upset the Buckeyes, 75-62, at the Schottenstein Center.
| Team | 1 | 2 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| #18 OHIO STATE | 38 | 24 | 62 |
| IOWA | 39 | 36 | 75 |
The Buckeyes trailed at halftime for the second straight game, but unlike Tuesday night against Minnesota, Ohio State could not execute a second-half comeback to tally another win in Columbus. Keegan Murray caught fire early and his twin brother Kris Murray picked things up late, combining for 35 points to close out the Buckeyes on their home floor
Ohio State made a push in the final few minutes, cutting the Hawkeye lead to just six points with 2:40 to play, but the Buckeyes didn't score again after that. Iowa’s Connor McCaffery sealed the deal with a 3-pointer at the 1:44 mark, and Iowa picked up its first ranked win of the season.
Malaki Branham, E.J. Liddell and Kyle Young all finished with double-digit scoring totals for the Buckeyes, but it wasn’t enough to best the Big Ten’s highest-scoring offense. Branham led the way with 22 points while Liddell had 15 and Young added 10.
Ohio State shot just 2-for-11 from 3-point range for the game, allowed Iowa to pull down 20 offensive rebounds and turned the ball over 14 times. Iowa scored 16 points off of Buckeye turnovers, and the Hawkeye bench outscored Ohio State's own, 25-14.
First Half
Despite leading for more than 15 minutes of the first half, Ohio State trailed Iowa by one point at the intermission. The Buckeyes shot 10 percent better than the Hawkeyes, but Iowa got the better of the rebounding battle and leaned heavily on Keegan Murray to make things happen on offense.
Murray dropped 20 points in the first 20 minutes alone, shooting 8-for-13 and knocking down two triples. After Ohio State built a 21-10 lead by the 13:14 mark, Murray went on a 10-0 run all by himself to bring Iowa back within one point midway through the half.
Ohio State and Iowa traded baskets from that point on as neither team went on a run bigger than 4-0 for the rest of the half. With the game tied 36-all with less than a minute to go, Jordan Bohannon put the Hawkeyes up three with his first field-goal make of the game, and Iowa held onto a lead for the remaining seconds of the half.
On an uncharacteristically quiet night from the 3-point line for Ohio State, the team shot just four 3-point attempts and made just one in the opening 20 minutes.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | IOWA |
|---|---|---|
| 62 | POINTS | 75 |
| 23-49 (46.9%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 27-64 (42.2%) |
| 2-11 (18.2%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 6-21 (28.6%) |
| 14-21 (66.7%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 15-21 (71.4%) |
| 14 | TURNOVERS | 8 |
| 31 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 40 |
| 12 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 20 |
| 19 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 20 |
| 14 | BENCH POINTS | 25 |
| 6 | BLOCKS | 3 |
| 7 | STEALS | 3 |
| 7 | ASSISTS | 12 |
Second Half
Ohio State scored seven of the first nine points to open the second half, including six by Branham alone, and the Buckeyes retook a four-point lead in the first few minutes. By the media timeout at the 16-minute mark, though, Iowa had tied things back up, 45-all.
After a Liddell jumper briefly gave Ohio State the lead back, Iowa scored 11 of the next 13 points in the contest to jump ahead by nine points midway through the second half. By the 6:39 mark, back-to-back dunks by Keegan and Kris Murray put the Hawkeyes up 11 points, 64-53, and Ohio State burned a timeout to stop the bleeding.
Branham cut the Iowa lead back down to single digits with 3:40 to go, and Liddell knocked down a triple with 2:40 to go that cut the Hawkeye edge down to just six points. But on the next Iowa possession, multiple offensive boards allowed McCaffery the chance to nail a 3-pointer that put the Buckeyes down nine points with 1:44 left.
The Hawkeyes scored the final seven points of the game, and the Buckeyes didn't score at all after the late 3-pointer by Liddell.
While Kris Murray didn't score in the first half, he had 11 in the final 20 minutes to help lead the Hawkeyes to victory.
What's Next
Ohio State will have a quick turnaround Monday as it takes on Indiana at 7 p.m. at the Schottenstein Center.
Game Notes
- Eugene Brown made his third straight start for the Buckeyes despite the return of Meechie Johnson, who missed the past two games with an ankle injury.
- Kyle Young was the first Buckeye off the bench, subbing in for Zed Key at the 17:15 mark in the first half. Young had his highest scoring output since Jan. 27.
- Ohio State is now 11-1 at home this season after winning its first 11 home games of the year.
- Ohio State greats Jim Jackson, Michael Reed and Jae’Sean Tate were all at the Schottenstein Center for Saturday’s game, and members of the Buckeyes’ 1991 team were recognized at halftime.
