INDIANAPOLIS – The Ohio State men’s basketball team is hunkering down for what it hopes will be a prolonged stay here at the Big Ten tournament.
That’s because the longer the stay, the more likely the Buckeyes will end their two-year NCAA Tournament drought and earn an invitation to The Big Dance when the field of 68 is revealed on Sunday (6 p.m. Eastern on CBS).
But first things first and, by losing the regular season finale at Indiana 66-60 last Saturday, Ohio State (17-14, 9-11 Big Ten) dropped into the No. 10 seed for the conference tournament. That means the Buckeyes must play in Wednesday’s first round. The opponent is No. 15 seed Iowa (16-15, 7-13). The game will be played at approximately 6 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and will be televised by the Peacock streaming service.
This is a rematch of a game played on Jan. 27 in Columbus as the Buckeyes rolled to an 82-67 win over the Hawkeyes. Micah Parrish led OSU with 18 points, Bruce Thornton had 15 and Devin Royal and John Mobley Jr. each had 12. Drew Thelwell led Iowa with 20 points. The Hawkeyes played that game with standout forward Owen Freeman, who has since been ruled out for the season with a finger injury.
Iowa needed a win on Sunday at Nebraska to qualify for the tournament and got it with an 83-68 decision that knocked the Huskers out of the Big Ten tournament field. That win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Hawkeyes.
With a win over Iowa, Ohio State would advance to play No. 7 seed Illinois (20-11, 12-8) in a second round game at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The Buckeyes are firmly on the NCAA bubble, listed as either a Last Four In or First Four Out team by the various Bracketology sites. One win would bolster OSU’s hopes, while two wins could make the Buckeyes an NCAA lock.
We shared our full Big Ten tournament primer here with notes and the full schedule. Here are some facts and figures on the tournament and the Buckeyes:
* The Buckeyes are 34-19 all-time in Big Ten Tournament games and 16-7 in their opening game of the tournament.
* This is just the second time Ohio State has been the No. 10 seed. The Buckeyes were also the No. 10 seed last year and went 1-1. Last year, the Buckeyes opened the tournament with a win over Iowa in the second round and then played No. 2 seed Illinois right down to the wire in the quarterfinals before falling 77-74.
* Ohio State has won four tournament titles, the last of which coming in 2013, and has made nine title game appearances.
* Ohio State and Iowa are meeting in the Big Ten Tournament for the third consecutive season and the fifth time overall. The Buckeyes are 3-1 all-time against Iowa and are coming off a 90-78 win over the Hawkeyes in the second round of last year’s tournament.
* In the previous meeting this season, Ohio State used a 20-4 run at the start of the second half to take full control of the game and rode the lead to an 82-65 victory in Columbus on Jan. 27. The Buckeyes limited Iowa to just 39.3 percent shooting, marking one of just three games of sub-40 percent shooting for the Hawkeyes.
* Ohio State is coming off a tough 66-60 setback at Indiana in the regular season finale on Saturday. Micah Parrish led the Buckeyes with 19 points. Ohio State led by 10 in the second half but the Hoosiers used the home crowd to help spur them to the comeback victory down the stretch.
* For information on Peacock, click here. (Plans start at $7.99 per month).
Below is our preview as Ohio State faces Iowa in the Big Ten tournament on Wednesday.
