The Ohio State men's basketball team did what the football team couldn't on Saturday, coming back from its biggest win of the year to take care of business against Iowa.
The Buckeyes defeated the Hawkeyes, 82-64 – three days after their road upset win over No. 3 Purdue – to improve to 22-5 and 13-1 in Big Ten play, giving Ohio State a full one-game lead in the conference.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| IOWA | 32 | 32 | 64 |
| #14 OHIO STATE | 42 | 40 | 82 |
Kaleb Wesson, who was held scoreless against Purdue, led the Buckeyes with 18 points and added seven rebounds. Keita Bates-Diop scored 14 points and led the Buckeyes with eight rebounds. C.J. Jackson, who left the game early in the second half due to what appeared to be a cramp, also scored 14 points and led the Buckeyes with five assists.
A total of five Buckeyes finished the game in double digits, as Jae'Sean Tate scored 11 and Micah Potter contributed 10.
Iowa kept pace with Ohio State for the first half of the first half, taking an 18-15 lead with just under 10 minutes to play before the break after a 7-0 run. From there, however, Ohio State outscored Iowa 27-14 for the rest of the half to take a 10-point lead, 42-32, into the break.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | IOWA |
|---|---|---|
| 82 | POINTS | 64 |
| 29-55 (52.7%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 25-59 (42.4%) |
| 9-22 (40.9%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 6-20 (30.0%) |
| 15-21 (71.4%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 8-10 (80.0%) |
| 10 | TURNOVERS | 12 |
| 33 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 29 |
| 8 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 10 |
| 25 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 19 |
| 22 | BENCH POINTS | 28 |
| 3 | BLOCKS | 4 |
| 8 | STEALS | 2 |
| 18 | ASSISTS | 12 |
The Buckeyes quickly pulled away from the Hawkeyes early in the second half, starting the half on a 12-4 run in the first four minutes and 11 seconds to take an 18-point lead. Ohio State would go on to lead by as many as 29 points with less than seven minutes to play before ultimately cruising to an 18-point victory.
With Michigan State's 68-65 win over Purdue on Saturday afternoon, bringing both teams' conference records to 12-2, Ohio State now has a one-game lead in the Big Ten standings with four games to play.
The Buckeyes will look to avenge their only conference loss of the season on Thursday when they travel to State College, Pa., to play Penn State. Thursday's game is scheduled for an 8 p.m. tip-off on BTN.
