How Brock Harding Stepped Up To Lead Iowa Over Ohio State In Big Ten Tournament

Iowa Hawkeyes guard Brock Harding stepped up big when the Hawks needed him the most in their Big Ten Tournament win over Ohio State.

Iowa Hawkeyes guard Brock Harding (2) celebrates scoring a 3-pointer Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in a first round game at the 2025 TIAA Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Ohio State Buckeyes at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. | Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It wasn't easy, but it's never easy in March. The Iowa Hawkeyes and Ohio State Buckeyes were locked in a 72-68 battle with under a minute to go in the game in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Given the way Iowa's campaign has gone this season, nobody would have blamed Fran McCaffery's squad for folding under the pressure and watching the season slip away. Before the tournament, Iowa junior guard Josh Dix said he felt the Hawkeyes could make a run through the Big Ten Tournament, though.

“I think if we can get hot, we can win it all,” he had said after the season finale win over Nebraska, according to John Steppe of The Gazette.

The Hawkeyes may not win it all — which would be their only chance at making the NCAA Tournament — but they certainly beat the Buckeyes, 77-70, and that's the first step.

Sophomore guard Brock Harding turned the ball over with 50 seconds left and that led to a Bruce Thornton jumper for Ohio State, which trimmed Iowa's lead to 72-70. On the very next possession, Harding made a three-pointer, though, assisted by Dix, which helped the Hawkeyes pull away.

"I was really hoping that Josh was going to hit the stepback middie, and he kicked it to me. I knew I had to make up for the turnover somehow, and it found me and it went in," Harding told the media after the game.

If the Hawkeyes continue to make a run in Indianapolis, that Harding three-pointer will be looked at as the catalyst point. He and Iowa could have crumbled after the turnover, but instead, the Hawkeyes found a way to let it go and live up to the moment.

"A lot of times he finds himself on the floor at the end of the game. He's tough. He's smart. He has that ability to come back after a turnover -- because he had a couple before that. When that shot left his hands, I think we all knew it was good," McCaffery said.

Up next for Iowa is No. 24 Illinois in the second round on Thursday.