Ohio State had a golden opportunity Saturday night.
The Buckeyes failed to take advantage of it — big time.
On the road against an Iowa team playing without its best player — Big Ten scoring leader Peter Jok — Ohio State had a chance to win its fourth game out of five and inch one step closer toward a potential turnaround for its season.
Instead, the undermanned Hawkeyes dominated throughout en route to an 85-72 victory.
| 1 | 2 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|
| OHIO STATE | 29 | 43 | 72 |
| IOWA | 40 | 45 | 85 |
Ohio State played one of its poorer games of the season — on both ends of the floor — as the Buckeyes shot just 43 percent from the field and allowed Iowa to shoot 51 percent and make 10-for-22 from downtown.
The Hawkeyes' largest lead of the game was 20 as a pair of free throws from Isaiah Moss with 7 minutes, 14 seconds remaining gave the Hawkeyes a 72-52 lead.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | IOWA |
|---|---|---|
| 72 | POINTS | 85 |
| 27–63 (43%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 32–64 (50%) |
| 7–22 (32%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 10–23 (43%) |
| 11–17 (65%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 11–20 (55%) |
| 12 | TURNOVERS | 9 |
| 36 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 41 |
| 12 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 12 |
| 24 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 29 |
| 20 | BENCH POINTS | 44 |
| 0 | BLOCKS | 5 |
| 4 | STEALS | 5 |
| 19 | ASSISTS | 21 |
In Jok's absence, Brady Ellingson and Jordan Bohannon led the way. Ellingson scored 17 points and Bohannon added 12 as the two combined to hit nine 3-pointers between them.
For the Buckeyes, Jae'Sean Tate led the way with 17 points. Kam Williams scored 14 and JaQuan Lyle had 12. Trevor Thompson went scoreless and played just 13 minutes as he battled foul trouble all night.
Ohio State left a lot to be desired on both ends of the floor in the first half and, as a result, Iowa took a 40-29 lead into the locker room.
The Buckeyes shot just 34 percent from the field and were only 2-for-11 from behind the 3-point line while the Hawkeyes got pretty much anything they wanted offensively and shoot 50 percent from the floor and made 6-of-14 attempts from downtown.
After a jumper from Lyle brought Ohio State within 19-18 with 11:34 to play in the first half, Iowa responded with a 9-1 run to open up its first-half lead. Ellingson hit a pair of 3-pointers in that stretch and Ellingson and Bohannon each hit three triples in the opening 20 minutes.
Tate, Marc Loving and Thompson were all in foul trouble in the first half for the Buckeyes as each picked up two first-half fouls. Tate led the way for Ohio State with nine points in the first half.
Next up for Ohio State is a matchup Tuesday against Maryland at Value City Arena.
