The last time an Ohio State squad invaded Iowa City, the outcome wasn't exactly what Buckeye fans were expecting. On Thursday night, however, the Scarlet and Gray basketball team exacted a bit of revenge.
Led by backup point guard Andrew Dakich, Ohio State used an efficient first-half performance to defeat Iowa on the road, 92-81, collecting the Buckeyes' first win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in nearly four years. The win also kept Ohio State perfect in Big Ten play (12-4, 3-0), while Iowa fell to 9-8, 0-4 on the year.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| OHIO STATE | 46 | 46 | 92 |
| IOWA | 32 | 49 | 81 |
The Buckeyes were led in the second half by Keita Bates-Diop who put together his seventh double-double of the season. He scored 18 of his 27 points in the second half and grabbed 13 boards, his first double-double since Dec. 2 against Wisconsin
While Bates-Diop filled up the stat sheet, it was Dakich who made arguably the biggest impact for Ohio State. Dakich dished out five of his six assists in the first half with starter C.J. Jackson on the bench with early foul trouble. Dakich also finished with a plus-minus of +12 and did not commit a turnover in 26 minutes of action.
Jackson returned to the lineup to start the second half, but struggled to find a rhythm as he opened the final 20 minutes with a turnover on Ohio State's first possession. The Hawkeyes, who trailed by as many as 17 late in the first half, opened the second frame on an 11-4 run to cut the Buckeye lead to 50-43 heading into the first media timeout.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | IOWA |
|---|---|---|
| 92 | POINTS | 81 |
| 35-66 (53.0%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 29-68 (42.6%) |
| 7-20 (35.0%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 7-17 (41.2%) |
| 15-23 (65.2%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 16-23 (69.6%) |
| 9 | TURNOVERS | 11 |
| 38 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 40 |
| 10 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 15 |
| 28 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 25 |
| 12 | BENCH POINTS | 13 |
| 5 | BLOCKS | 5 |
| 6 | STEALS | 1 |
| 16 | ASSISTS | 17 |
The run was answered by six straight points from Bates-Diop, followed by a Kam Williams pull-up jumper that capped an 8-0 run for the Buckeyes to put Ohio State back up by 15 with 13:37 to play.
Iowa cut Ohio State's lead to nine with 9:50 to play, however the Buckeyes responded with with a spinning layup from Bates-Diop and an old-fashioned three-point play from Jae'Sean Tate to extend the lead back to 68-54 in under a minute. Tate, who sat out portions of practice leading up to the game, finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.
The Hawkeyes cut the Ohio State lead to nine with 2:17 to play, but it was as close as the home team would get for the rest of the game.
In the first half, both teams came out firing on all cylinders offensively. Ohio State and Iowa combined to shoot 10-of-14 to open the contest, leading to a 12-12 tie at the first media timeout.
After the Buckeyes took their first lead of the game off of a layup from Kaleb Wesson, the freshman then drew a charge from Iowa's Tyler Cook. The foul was the second for Cook, who sat for nearly seven minutes. Seconds later, Jackson also collected his second foul, sending him to the bench as well with 14:25 to play in the first half.
From there, Ohio State went on a 12-4 run sparked by Williams who scored eight of his 11 first half points during that stretch, giving the Buckeyes a 28-16 lead with 11:01 to play in the first half. Williams finished with 13 points in the win.
The Buckeyes extended their lead to 14 following a fast break layup from Musa Jallow with 6:39 in the first half, resulting in an Iowa timeout. Hawkeye head coach Fran McCaffery re-inserted Cook into the game, and Cook immediately made his impact felt, completing a three-point play to stop a 6-0 run from Ohio State.
A driving layup by Bates-Diop with 1:20 to play in the first half gave Ohio State its largest lead of the first 20 minutes at 17 before the Hawkeyes cut the deficit down to 46-32 heading into halftime.
Next up for Ohio State is a home matchup against No. 1 Michigan State at Value City Arena. Tip is set for 4:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon.
