Well, that was ugly.
Ohio State turned the ball over far too many times (14) against an Iowa team not known for its defense and it fed a Hawkeye offense that can really light it up when given the opportunity. It all led to a disappointing 75-62 loss that might have been a nail in the coffin to the Buckeyes’ conference title hopes.
It didn’t start out too bad for Ohio State. In fact, the Buckeyes got out to a double-digit lead early in the first half before Iowa began to take advantage of OSU mistakes. Still, the Hawkeyes went into the locker room just up by one point at the half.
The second twenty minutes was worse for Ohio State. The Hawkeyes got 15 more opportunities on the offensive end because of far too many turnovers and rebounds given up by OSU. Those numbers speak to a lack of effort and execution on both sides of the floor. Even more troubling were the 20 offensive rebounds a fairly undersized Iowa team was able to pull down.
We’ve seen a lot of things from a Chris Holtmann team, but one where the team just didn’t put the effort forward is a surprise, especially with what was still on the line.
Back at it on Monday#Team123 pic.twitter.com/tC69IBuLqx
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) February 19, 2022
Iowa took the charity from OSU and ran out to a double-digit lead of their own in the second half that the Buckeyes were never able to recover from, eventually losing 75-62. Keegan Murray was a star for Iowa, pouring in 24 points on 10-of-17 field goal opportunities.
Malaki Branham led Ohio State with 22 points, but the loss drops OSU to 16-7 overall and 9-5 in the league. The Buckeyes will look to put a better effort out there when they next hit the court against Indiana Monday.
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