Ohio State Survives Late Comeback Effort From Iowa, Advances to Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals With 72-69 Win

The Buckeyes (21-11, 13-8 Big Ten) narrowly dodged a late-game comeback by Iowa (21-12, 11-11) to avenge a loss to the Hawkeyes earlier this season, winning 72-69 in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament to advance to the quarterfinals of the conference tourney against top-seeded Michigan.

Ohio State took a 16-point lead with 14 minutes to play and saw that edge dwindle all the way to a single point in the final minute of action, but two clutch free throws by John Mobley Jr. and a missed 3-pointer by Iowa’s Isaia Howard secured the win for the Buckeyes.

Bruce Thornton, to no surprise, led the way for Ohio State, scoring 24 points on a lethal 10-of-14 from the field. Christoph Tilly tacked on 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

Star Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz led the way for the Hawkeyes with 17 points in a losing effort.

First Half

Ohio State's offense looked as anemic as it did for most of its previous matchup with Iowa in the first nine minutes of its Big Ten Tournament game against the Hawkeyes.

Devin Royal hit a layup 80 seconds into the game, then the Buckeyes went 7:53 without hitting a single field goal. They shot 0-of-5 in the stretch and turned the ball over four times, with Tilly at last breaking through near the rim. Iowa, for its part, only managed to pull ahead by five points in the stretch. Then, Ohio State started finding success around the rim.

Thornton hit one of his circus scoop layups, Stirtz countered with a well-contested logo 3-pointer late in the shot clock. Amare Bynum backed down a defender for a two-handed slam and his first points, and Tilly followed with a post layup, pulling Ohio State back to within one point at 16-15.

Amare Bynum with the @OhioStateHoops JAM

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Bynum kept finding success on the interior. He got open for another dunk, then gave Ohio State its first lead after bobbling the ball in midair but regaining control for a double-clutch layup. Gabe Cupps made a rare offensive contribution with a 3-pointer, then Thornton made another circus look at the rim for a 3-point play the old-fashioned way as the lead exchanged hands a couple of times.

Tilly continued the Buckeyes' interior success by drawing two fouls while battling for two rebounds, hitting three of four free throws before coming open for a dunk off a crisp pass by Thornton to put Ohio State up 32-28. 

Tilly slam

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Stirtz answered with a layup, but a Thornton drive and finish took a four-point lead into the locker room for the Buckeyes. Tilly logged 12 points in the first half with Bynum tacking on eight as Ohio State held a 22-8 advantage in points in the paint.

Second Half

Tilly and Thornton kept the interior scoring going as the second half got underway for Ohio State, each nailing a bucket in the paint to expand the lead to 38-32, then Mobley scored his first points on a 3-pointer to make it 41-33.

Thornton hit another circus shot, this time an elbow jumper through a foul, added a pull-up mid-range jumper to push the advantage to double-digits and then hit a double-clutch scoop layup. Then he canned an open 3-pointer, and the one-man army had a 10-0 run by himself as Ohio State led 51-35.

Iowa collected a 3-pointer and a transition slam to eat into its deficit, but Thornton answered with a triple to make it 13 consecutive Ohio State points from his hand. Mobley countered a Stirtz three with one of his own, but Stirtz kept heating up with a fadeaway mid-range shot. He found forward Cam Manyawu for a layup and the Hawkeyes climbed back to within single digits, and two Iowa free throws took the OSU edge down to seven points, capping an 8-0 run.

Leading by just six, Ohio State found offense from Tilly late in the shot clock on a possession before Iowa somehow left Mobley wide open for three, placing the Buckeyes up double-digits again at 64-53 as the clock wound under six minutes remaining. Thornton made it 10 consecutive made shots to extend the edge to 66-54 a few possessions later.

Still, Iowa refused to go away, receiving 3-pointers from forwards Cooper Koch and Alvaro Folgueiras to pull right back within six points at 68-62. Royal got inside for a layup, but Folgueiras found another three and the lead was cut to five points with less than two minutes to play. Then a dunk by Iowa sliced the lead to three points. Thornton missed a floater and Stirtz got to the foul line to make it a one-point game, 70-69, with 38 seconds remaining.

Thornton found space for a contested scoop layup. It bounced off the rim twice, then fell off and was tapped by Bynum – but the ball somehow found its way to the hands of Mobley. He drew a foul and knocked down two clutch free throws.

Iowa had two chances to hit a 3-pointer and send the game to overtime, but missed both and Ohio State survived.

What's Next?

Eighth-seeded Ohio State will face No. 1 seed Michigan in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday. Tipoff is at approximately noon on Big Ten Network.

Game Notes

• Ohio State is 82-85 against Iowa after splitting its season series with the Hawkeyes.
• Devin Royal is now nine points away from 1,000 career points.
• Bynum and Tilly's 20 combined first-half points outscored the rest of their team in that period handily, as each other Buckeye combined for 14.
• Ohio State scored 27 points in the final 11 minutes of the first half after managing just seven points in the first nine minutes.