Hawkeyes shut down by Buckeyes at home
Posted on 04. Feb, 2014 by admin in Iowa Basketball
By Brendan Stiles
HawkeyeDrive.com
IOWA CITY, Iowa — One had to figure Iowa would get a much better shot from Ohio State on Tuesday after the Hawkeyes beat the Buckeyes three weeks ago in Columbus.
Ohio State gave a better shot and ultimately executed better down the stretch to knock off No. 17 Iowa 76-69 on Tuesday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes dropped to 6-4 in Big Ten play, 17-6 overall and although Iowa still remains alone in third place, it is now only a game ahead of three teams (including the Buckeyes) in the league standings as a result of Tuesday’s outcome.
For Ohio State, that execution came at both ends of the floor. Defensively, it held Iowa to 15 fewer points than it had the first time these teams met back on Jan. 12. Not only that, but the Hawkeyes couldn’t get anything to go down.
“I don’t know how to put it into words other that we just didn’t get anything going tonight,” junior forward Aaron White said.
Two numbers that ultimately plagued Iowa on this evening were shooting from behind the arc and from the free-throw line. When it came to 3-pointers, the Hawkeyes shot just 3-of-20. As for its production at the charity stripe, Iowa was 12-of-19.
Conversely, the Buckeyes made seven 3-pointers during the game and shot 19-of-24 from the foul line, which included making nine of their final 11 free-throw attempts. Ohio State also scored 45 of its points in the second half after trailing Iowa 33-31 at halftime.
“I think if you want to look at where we lost the game, we lost the game with defense in the second half,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said.
If there was a turning point in this game, it came midway through the second half. Trailing 50-47, Iowa turned the ball over and as Ohio State’s Amir Williams went up for the transition dunk, he was fouled by junior center Gabe Olaseni. After the foul was reviewed, it was changed to a Flagrant 1, meaning two free throws and possession.
Williams knocked down both free throws and the Buckeyes scored on that ensuing possession to extend their lead to 54-47.
“I kind of feel bad about that,” Olaseni said following a 14-point, 6-rebound performance Tuesday and before he saw a replay of what happened. “I guess it was a Flagrant 1 because I didn’t make a play on the ball. I didn’t want him to go into the shooting motion. I just wanted to get into his arms.
“He had so much momentum that I tried to hold him down, basically. But it was probably a play I shouldn’t have made. I should’ve probably just swiped down.
The deficit would prove to be too much for the Hawkeyes to overcome, even though sophomore guard Mike Gesell scored the bulk of his team-high 16 points during the game’s final minutes.
“With our team, I think we always bring effort,” Gesell said. “That’s kind of a given for us. We’re a bunch of hard working guys.
“We weren’t clicking for some reason, in my opinion.”
Iowa plays another marquee home game later this week when No. 10 Michigan visits Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 8. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. Central and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN. The Wolverines won the first meeting between the two teams 75-67 back on Jan. 22 up in Ann Arbor, Mich.
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