Ohio State Advances to Big Ten Quarterfinals with Win Over Iowa
The Ohio State Buckeyes are into the quarterfinals in Minneapolis.
Behind yet another big second half from senior forward Jamison Battle, Ohio State defeated Iowa 90-78 to clinch a quarterfinal berth in the Big Ten Tournament. This was the Buckeyes’ sixth win under interim head coach Jake Diebler.
The Buckeyes started off hot from all over. Sophomore guard Bruce Thornton led the way with back-to-back 3-pointers, heading Ohio State to a 10-2 run early.
Even though Ohio State was playing good perimeter defense, Iowa junior forward Payton Sandfort hit two 3s of his own to bring the Hawkeyes back within two.
Regardless, Ohio State started off 5-5 from downtown, led by Thornton and freshman guard Scotty Middleton. Middleton finished the half on a perfect 3/3 on catch-and-shoot 3s and 11 points.
The Miami, Florida, native helped dominate the Hawkeyes in points off the bench on a plus-16 margin.
Both teams shot the ball extremely well in the first, with the Buckeyes shooting at a 73 percent clip from beyond the arc and 61 percent overall. Iowa shot 54 percent from the field as well.
Battle, who has started recent games poorly, continued this trend, playing just 10 scoreless minutes. Despite Ohio State’s second-leading scorer not playing much, the Buckeyes led by five at the half.
But just like those same games where he hasn’t shot well in the first, he’s come out in the second hot. Battle opened the second-half scoring with a 3 and Thornton hit one of his own on the next possession as well.
Sandfort cut the lead to three at one point before Ohio State started to pull away. It didn’t help the Hawkeyes that they allowed the Buckeyes 12 minutes in the bonus either.
Against Purdue, Battle had 21, all in the second half. Through 13 minutes in the second, he had 17, including two 3s and a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line.
Thornton, despite only scoring 14, dished out a career-high nine assists to complement Battle’s 23 points and nine rebounds.
The Buckeyes’ bench also continued to hit, putting up 37 total. Sandfort’s 19 wasn’t enough, along with senior guard Tony Perkins’ 13.
Diebler and his squad take on Illinois in the quarterfinals Friday at 6:30 p.m. EST, streaming on Big Ten Network.
