Video: Iowa’s weekend in Minneapolis turns short after 90-78 loss to Ohio State
By Dallas Jones
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – A rematch of last March’s Big Ten tourney for the Iowa Hawkeyes as they hosted the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round Thursday night.
The Buckeyes finished the regular season winners of four straight and after letting go of their Head Coach midseason, they have flipped the switch on their season.
Momentum from the late season surge continued for the Buckeyes as they led the entire game in their 90-78 defeat of the Hawkeyes.
1st half: A tale told many times this season for the Hawkeyes is the slow starts, today was no different. Iowa immediately saw themselves down 10-2 early in this one after making just one of their first seven shot attempts.
The Hawkeyes spent the rest of the half attempting to crawl back into the game. Payton Sandfort led all Hawkeye scorers with nine points, but sat the last few minutes of the half due to foul trouble.
Defense was hurting the Hawkeyes the most as the Buckeyes shot over 60% from the field, a lot of that thanks to their 8/11 (72.7%) shooting from three.
Through all of those struggles, the Hawkeyes still had a very manageable deficit at the break.
2nd half: Pressure was on the Hawkeyes in the second half. A chance to stay alive in not only this tournament, but also the NCAA tournament on the line.
What ensued was one of the worst offensive halves of the Hawkeye’s entire season.
The Hawkeyes shot below their averages on all three levels in the second half making just 33% of all shots and 25% from deep.
Iowa cut the lead to four once in the second half, but besides that the Hawkeyes were stuck in the eight to twelve point range.
Ohio State entered the bonus with over twelve minutes left in the game and didn’t let that go to waste as they knocked down 16 free throws in the second half alone.
Former Minnesota Gopher and current Ohio State forward Jamison Battle was another huge problem for the Hawkeyes in the second half.
After being held scoreless in the first half, he outscored Payton Sandfort, Owen Freeman and Tony Perkins combined by himself with 23 points to their 19.
The Buckeyes just had an answer for everything the Hawkeyes tried tonight.
What’s next for the Hawkeyes?
Iowa will now await a likely invitation to the NIT as they watch the rest of the Big Ten tournament from home. The NIT selections will be announced at 9:30 pm Monday, March 17th.
Those games will begin starting March 19th and 20th.
Hear from the Hawkeye players postgame here: