COLUMBUS, Ohio — Eugene Brown III wanted to turn the momentum back to Ohio State.
Trailing by seven with seven minutes to go, the sophomore guard raced down the cort, seeing an opening for Kyle Young. Just like he did in the first half against Minnesota in the midst of the team’s turnover struggles, Brown lobbed one up to redshirt senior forward Kyle Young, floating it too high for another turnover.
Iowa took hold and did what it does best: run.
The Hawkeyes raced down the floor, landing into the hands of sophomore Keegan Murray who threw the ball down right in front of the Iowa bench, the only part of Value City Arena that made noise.
Iowa (18-8, 8-7 Big Ten) had the momentum. It really didn’t matter how the Hawkeyes got it, whether it was from a foul on Jordan Bohannon by Jamari Wheeler from 3-point range as the shot clock ran out, igniting a fury from head coach Chris Holtmann that nearly gave him a technical, or Murray seemingly by himself.
But it was momentum that Ohio State (16-7, 9-5 Big Ten) couldn't overcome even on its home floor, falling to the Hawkeyes, 75-62, for the Buckeyes’ first home loss since March 6, 2021.
Keegan Murray led the Hawkeyes with 24 points and four rebounds, while Malaki Branham scored 22 points for the Buckeyes.
Here;s a few takeaways.
The play that shifted momentum
Ohio State was seemingly doing everything right.
It had held the Iowa offense to under 40% shooting with 14 minutes to go, trying to regain that offensive juice it had in the early moments of the first half with an acrobatic layup by redshirt senior guard Cedric Russell, tying the game at 49.
The defense was stout on the next possession, forcing the ball deep in Iowa territory as the clock continued to tick down. With less than five seconds on the shot clock, guard Jordan Bohannon threw up a 3-point try, trying to draw contact.
He succeeded. The whistle came.
Chris Holtmann was livid, getting the face of a referee, nearly earning a technical four. And after the first free-throw of the 3-point try, when Ohio State called a 30-second timeout, , the head coach wasn’t done, getting restrained by members of his staff..
Ohio State was doing everything right defensively, holding Iowa’s top-10 offense to less than 40% shooting at that point.
But it was enough to bring the Buckeyes to a screeching halt, one that saw Iowa take a nine-point lead, one that saw the offense fail to score a field goal in over five minutes plagued by turnovers and two missed 3s.
It hurt Ohio State throughout the second half, unable to get those second-chance points as Iowa got offensive rebound after offensive rebound, to the grown of a filled Value City Arena.
Ohio State just wasn’t itself after that moment, something that Holtmann seemed to know.
Changing of tides in first half
The changing of the tides happened before though.
Ohio State came out Tuesday afternoon playing some of the best basketball it had played all season long. And Malaki Branham was why.
The Buckeye freshman couldn’t miss making each of his first four attempts from the field, scoring each of Ohio State’s first seven points from the field. E.J. Liddell and Kyle Young picked up the momentum Branham had, exploding on a 21-10 run against Iowa .
Ohio State was aggressive on both sides of the ball, whether it was in the paint, with multiple and-one plays by Young, securing momentum offensively, while using their length and speed to silence the Hawkeyes’ top-10 offense.
In the first seven minutes against the Hawkeyes, Ohio State looked like one of the best teams in the country, showing why it had a chance to secure a top-four place in the Big Ten ahead of the conference tournament.
Iowa was not in good shape. Head coach Fran McCaffery took a timeout.
The Hawkeyes regrouped, centering around one idea that had worked all season long: get the ball to Keegan Murray. The sophomore began to exploit Ohio State in every way possible, looking like an NBA lottery pick.
He scored each of Iowa’s next 10 points, erasing the Buckeyes’ 11-point lead nearly by himself.
That’s when Iowa’s offense came to play. Even after four game-changing and momentum-shifting blocks by Liddell in the first half, the Hawkeyes outscored the Buckeyes, 29-17 in the final 12:53 in the first half, leaving for the locker room with a one-point lead.
In that final stretch, Ohio State made six of its 17 attempts from the field, falling victim to the length of players like Murray and Patrick McCaffery.
The “tale of two halves” narrative was seen again, condensed into the first 20 minutes, this hot and cold spell that seems to be defining this run for the Buckeyes in Big Ten play, balancing an explosive offense with a shutdown defense at one point, and finding itself in position where they need to crawl back, which it was unable to do.
News and notes
Ohio State freshman guard Meechie Johnson Jr. returned to the rotation Saturday after missing the previous two games with an ankle injury.
What it means
Ohio State lost its juice in the second half.
E.J. Liddell called it not playing a full 40 minutes postgame, which is exactly what happened, It seems like after the 3-point foul against Bohannon, the Buckeyes were taken out of the game and unable to fight back.
There were moments, sure. But it wasn't enough. Coming into a stretch of six more games over the span of two weeks, this one is a tough pill to swallow.
What’s next
Ohio State is back on its home floor 7 p.m. Monday for a home date against Indiana.
Trailing by seven with seven minutes to go, the sophomore guard raced down the cort, seeing an opening for Kyle Young. Just like he did in the first half against Minnesota in the midst of the team’s turnover struggles, Brown lobbed one up to redshirt senior forward Kyle Young, floating it too high for another turnover.
Iowa took hold and did what it does best: run.
The Hawkeyes raced down the floor, landing into the hands of sophomore Keegan Murray who threw the ball down right in front of the Iowa bench, the only part of Value City Arena that made noise.
Iowa (18-8, 8-7 Big Ten) had the momentum. It really didn’t matter how the Hawkeyes got it, whether it was from a foul on Jordan Bohannon by Jamari Wheeler from 3-point range as the shot clock ran out, igniting a fury from head coach Chris Holtmann that nearly gave him a technical, or Murray seemingly by himself.
But it was momentum that Ohio State (16-7, 9-5 Big Ten) couldn't overcome even on its home floor, falling to the Hawkeyes, 75-62, for the Buckeyes’ first home loss since March 6, 2021.
Keegan Murray led the Hawkeyes with 24 points and four rebounds, while Malaki Branham scored 22 points for the Buckeyes.
Here;s a few takeaways.
The play that shifted momentum
Ohio State was seemingly doing everything right.
It had held the Iowa offense to under 40% shooting with 14 minutes to go, trying to regain that offensive juice it had in the early moments of the first half with an acrobatic layup by redshirt senior guard Cedric Russell, tying the game at 49.
The defense was stout on the next possession, forcing the ball deep in Iowa territory as the clock continued to tick down. With less than five seconds on the shot clock, guard Jordan Bohannon threw up a 3-point try, trying to draw contact.
He succeeded. The whistle came.
Chris Holtmann was livid, getting the face of a referee, nearly earning a technical four. And after the first free-throw of the 3-point try, when Ohio State called a 30-second timeout, , the head coach wasn’t done, getting restrained by members of his staff..
Ohio State was doing everything right defensively, holding Iowa’s top-10 offense to less than 40% shooting at that point.
But it was enough to bring the Buckeyes to a screeching halt, one that saw Iowa take a nine-point lead, one that saw the offense fail to score a field goal in over five minutes plagued by turnovers and two missed 3s.
It hurt Ohio State throughout the second half, unable to get those second-chance points as Iowa got offensive rebound after offensive rebound, to the grown of a filled Value City Arena.
Ohio State just wasn’t itself after that moment, something that Holtmann seemed to know.
Changing of tides in first half
The changing of the tides happened before though.
Ohio State came out Tuesday afternoon playing some of the best basketball it had played all season long. And Malaki Branham was why.
The Buckeye freshman couldn’t miss making each of his first four attempts from the field, scoring each of Ohio State’s first seven points from the field. E.J. Liddell and Kyle Young picked up the momentum Branham had, exploding on a 21-10 run against Iowa .
Ohio State was aggressive on both sides of the ball, whether it was in the paint, with multiple and-one plays by Young, securing momentum offensively, while using their length and speed to silence the Hawkeyes’ top-10 offense.
In the first seven minutes against the Hawkeyes, Ohio State looked like one of the best teams in the country, showing why it had a chance to secure a top-four place in the Big Ten ahead of the conference tournament.
Iowa was not in good shape. Head coach Fran McCaffery took a timeout.
The Hawkeyes regrouped, centering around one idea that had worked all season long: get the ball to Keegan Murray. The sophomore began to exploit Ohio State in every way possible, looking like an NBA lottery pick.
He scored each of Iowa’s next 10 points, erasing the Buckeyes’ 11-point lead nearly by himself.
That’s when Iowa’s offense came to play. Even after four game-changing and momentum-shifting blocks by Liddell in the first half, the Hawkeyes outscored the Buckeyes, 29-17 in the final 12:53 in the first half, leaving for the locker room with a one-point lead.
In that final stretch, Ohio State made six of its 17 attempts from the field, falling victim to the length of players like Murray and Patrick McCaffery.
The “tale of two halves” narrative was seen again, condensed into the first 20 minutes, this hot and cold spell that seems to be defining this run for the Buckeyes in Big Ten play, balancing an explosive offense with a shutdown defense at one point, and finding itself in position where they need to crawl back, which it was unable to do.
News and notes
Ohio State freshman guard Meechie Johnson Jr. returned to the rotation Saturday after missing the previous two games with an ankle injury.
What it means
Ohio State lost its juice in the second half.
E.J. Liddell called it not playing a full 40 minutes postgame, which is exactly what happened, It seems like after the 3-point foul against Bohannon, the Buckeyes were taken out of the game and unable to fight back.
There were moments, sure. But it wasn't enough. Coming into a stretch of six more games over the span of two weeks, this one is a tough pill to swallow.
What’s next
Ohio State is back on its home floor 7 p.m. Monday for a home date against Indiana.
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