Eric Boggs
A game Ohio State desperately needed for its postseason résumé quickly turned into a nightmare. The Buckeyes saw an early double-digit lead evaporate and never recovered in a 74-57 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes, a result that dealt a serious blow to their NCAA Tournament hopes and marked their first losing streak of the season.
Ohio State fell to 17-11 overall and 9-8 in Big Ten play, squandering a valuable Quad 1 opportunity at a time when bracket projections had them hovering just outside the field. Iowa, meanwhile, improved to 20-8 and 10-7 in conference action behind dominant performances from Bennett Stirtz and Alvaro Folgueiras, who scored 22 and 20 points respectively while exposing defensive breakdowns throughout the night. The Hawkeyes also bottled up star guard Bruce Thornton, limiting him to just 10 points after relentless double teams.
The contest began with promise for the Buckeyes, who looked poised to seize control early. John Mobley Jr. drilled a pair of difficult three-pointers, Amare Bynum added two triples of his own, and a sharp assist from Bynum set up Devin Royal for a dunk that gave Ohio State a 14-2 lead. But that momentum disappeared almost instantly.
Iowa responded with a devastating 21-1 run fueled by hot perimeter shooting, turnovers and poor shot selection from Ohio State. Stirtz led the surge with eight points during the stretch, and Cooper Koch added another three-pointer as the Buckeyes went more than nine minutes without a made field goal. The avalanche continued with another 10-0 run, stretching the combined burst to a staggering 31-4 swing that flipped the game completely. By halftime, Iowa held a 37-23 advantage, and Thornton had yet to score while facing constant defensive pressure. Ohio State shot just 31.8 percent from the field in the opening half.
Any hopes of a second-half recovery were quickly extinguished. Stirtz opened the period with five quick points as Iowa extended the margin to 51-32, its largest lead to that point. Whenever Ohio State threatened to build momentum, the Hawkeyes had an answer, particularly through their interior scoring. Folgueiras exploited mismatches for multiple baskets, and another 8-0 Iowa run pushed the lead past 20 with seven minutes remaining, effectively sealing the outcome. The Buckeyes never trimmed the deficit closer than 15 points the rest of the way.
Royal and Mobley finished as Ohio State’s top scorers with 16 and 15 points respectively, but the Buckeyes struggled to find consistency on either end of the floor. The absence of starting center Christoph Tilly due to injury further complicated matters, while both Royal and Mobley entered the game listed as questionable before ultimately playing.
The loss leaves Ohio State with little margin for error heading into its next matchup against the Purdue Boilermakers, a top-10 opponent that could represent the Buckeyes’ last realistic chance to secure a statement win before postseason play. Thornton, meanwhile, continues his pursuit of program history, now sitting at 2,047 career points and just 50 shy of becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer.
