No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. No. 8 Iowa Hawkeyes: First Half Notebook

Current Score: Ohio State 42, Iowa 45

Overall, this has been a very entertaining game and certainly looks like two of the top 10 programs in the country. Chris Holtmann called Iowa the best offensive team he's ever coached against and they are showcasing all of their options.

I love the way the Buckeyes are defending Luka Garza in the first half. Obviously that was priority No. 1 coming into the night. He didn't touch the ball offensively for the first 3.5 minutes and never got a paint touch until the 15:23 mark. It's been rearlly difficult for him to get good quality paint touches. Kyle Young, Zed Key and E.J. Liddell have all bodied him up nicely.

Joe Wieskamp is probably Iowa's second best play and he's having a great first half, even if his stat-line is modest. The Buckeyes need to defend him and Jordan Bohannon better, especially as the 3-balls start falling. Iowa can put up points in a hurry. 7-of-14 3-pointers for Iowa in the first half is concerning.

Jack Nunge is a problem. His length and athleticism is pretty special. He's given Iowa a huge boost off the bench tonight.

I'm impressed by both teams' composure. The game has been played in a 13-point swing with neither side leading by more than eight points and there have been 13 lead changes overall.

As the half wore on, Ohio State did a better job on the glass. But they were giving up way too many offensive rebounds through the first six minutes. The rebounding margin is now even at 19-19.

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The Buckeyes have had a few too many empty offensive possessions in the final 10 minutes of the half. It's somewhat surprising to me that the Scarlet and Gray have scored as many points in the paint as they have, but they're doing a good job of getting some high percentage looks. That said, there were some possessions from the 8-minute mark on in that left me scratching my head.

Meechie Johnson and C.J. Walker don't often play together at the same time, but I'm interested to see how it goes. Johnson hit two big 3-pointers late in the first half.

I think Ohio State is sharing the ball well (10 assists on 17 made baskets). For the most part, they've taken good looks on offense, playing with poise and not forcing things. Each side only turned it over three times.

Kyle Young's 100th career game tonight has been rock solid so far. As Holtmann pointed out yesterday, the best ability is availability and he's been that for four years. Young is off to a good start in a critical game tonight.

Seth Towns has to rebound better. He looks a little out of sync tonight and he's trying to tip rebounds rather than pull them down and control them.

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