Ohio State is dancing into the next round.
Despite entering Friday as a five-point underdog to sixth-seeded Iowa State, the 11th-seeded Buckeyes held the lead for the vast majority of the second half in their first-round matchup in the NCAA tournament and pulled off a 62-59 win in the BOK Center in Tulsa to advance to the second round. Ohio State will meet third-seeded Houston on Sunday.
Survive and advance! @OhioStateHoops is moving on. pic.twitter.com/GFkoduMa7C
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 23, 2019
Iowa State trailed for the entire second half, then took a one-point lead with 3:37 remaining before the Buckeyes reclaimed the advantage and held on for the win.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| OHIO STATE (20-14) | 26 | 36 | 62 |
| IOWA STATE (23-12) | 24 | 35 | 59 |
Kaleb Wesson proved to be too much for Iowa State starting forward Michael Jacobson, who was pulled from the game in the second half due to the physical mismatch. Despite a pair of first-half fouls than limited his minutes, Wesson led Ohio State with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | IOWA STATE |
|---|---|---|
| 62 | POINTS | 59 |
| 23-58 (39.7%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 23-53 (43.4%) |
| 5-20 (25.0%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 6-22 (27.3%) |
| 11-14 (78.6%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 7-10 (70.0%) |
| 11 | TURNOVERS | 12 |
| 38 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 31 |
| 12 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 6 |
| 26 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 25 |
| 4 | BENCH POINTS | 26 |
| 2 | BLOCKS | 2 |
| 7 | STEALS | 9 |
| 12 | ASSISTS | 9 |
The Buckeyes needed some role players to step up along with Wesson in order to pull off the victory. Enter Keyshawn Woods and Musa Jallow.
For the third game in a row, Woods finished in double figures. He had 19 points (3-of-6 from 3-point range), along with four rebounds and two assists. Jallow had 11 points, six rebounds, two assists, three steals and a block.
Ohio State maintained a 37-30 rebounding advantage, maximizing the size advantage it had due to Iowa State starting four guards. The Cyclones relied heavily on its reserves with 26 of its points coming from its bench players.
Marial Shayok powered the Cyclones with 23 points, but he didn't have much help.
The Buckeyes keep on dancing in #MarchMadness! @OhioStateHoops pic.twitter.com/QENW55dQRN
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 23, 2019
Next Up: Ohio State will face third-seeded Houston at 8:40 p.m. Sunday in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Game Notes
- The Buckeyes rolled with the starting five that they used in the Big Ten tournament, opening the game with C.J. Jackson, Keyshawn Woods, Musa Jallow, Andre Wesson and Kaleb Wesson.
- Wesson committed two fouls in the first half and was subbed out with 6:31 remaining before halftime and his team leading by one point. Ohio State rallied without its leading scorer and rebounder, though, and maintained the lead, holding onto a 26-24 halftime advantage.
- The Cyclones went nearly 10 minutes without hitting a single field goal in the latter portion of the first half. However, the Buckeyes' offense didn't have much success, and Ohio State only extended its lead to six points.
- Brutus Buckeye won a dance competition at center court in the first half, eliciting cheers for landing a backflip.
- Gene Smith sat in the first row of seats across the court from Ohio State's bench. But before the game, he took some time to talk to folks in Cyclones garb. Smith was Iowa State's athletic director from 1993 to 2000.
- Assistant coaches Ryan Pedon, Mike Netti and Mike Schrage sat at court level and watched the first half of the Houston-Georgia State game that ended 25 minutes before Ohio State-Iowa State tipped off. Then, Pedon and Terry Johnson watched the second half.
- Chris Holtmann remains undefeated in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
OUR HONOR DEFEND #MarchMadness | #Team120 pic.twitter.com/8rggkPgMpn
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) March 23, 2019
