Ohio State’s NCAA Tournament chances just took it on the chin. The Buckeyes were already precariously on the bubble and it might have just popped in a 77-70 loss to Iowa in a Big Ten Tournament first-round game that continued a poor showing down the stretch of the season. Most “bracketologists” out there had OSU as one of the last teams in or one of the first out of all of the madness, but the thought was a win or two would have the Buckeyes securely in.
That didn’t happen against an Iowa team Ohio State handled easily the first time around, and now it’s unlikely the Buckeyes get a free pass from the committee, especially with the potential of some “bid-stealers” still out there.
The game was close throughout, and in fact, OSU rushed out to a 6-0 lead. That vanished quickly though and things stayed nip and tuck throughout the first 20 minutes all the way to the half when the teams went into the locker room tied at 37 points each.
In the second half, Iowa gained a little breathing room and Ohio State had to play from behind almost the entire rest of the way. The Buckeyes were able to reel things back in and eventually took the lead, 58-57, with 8:49 left on a Bruce Thornton jumper. Iowa again regained the lead on a mini-run to stretch the lead out to seven points, but the Buckeyes bounced back and cut the lead to 72-70 with 45 seconds left, again on a Thornton jumper. But then, Iowa’s Brock Harding pretty much sealed the deal with a three-point basket with just 18 seconds left to put the Hawkeyes up 75-70. OSU could do nothing more and Iowa made two more free throws to end things and advance to the quarterfinals.
Thornton led the Buckeyes in scoring with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting. He also had nine assists and probably deserved a better fate. Devin Royal (17) and Micah Parrish (16) also finished in double figures, but it wasn’t enough after allowing Iowa to shoot 54.7% from the field (29-of-53).
With the loss, Ohio State will most likely miss the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year, and it’ll be interesting to see if the program accepts an invite to a lesser tournament. Either way, it’s back to the drawing board in the offseason to try and get this program back on track.
This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State basketball loses to Iowa, NCAA hopes take major hit
