Ohio State Buckeyes NCAA tournament hopes almost all of them died Wednesday night at the hands of the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Ohio State got off to a 14-2 start in the first five minutes of the game, and won the next 35 minutes 72-43. They did it with defensive tenacity and relentless attack at the rim.
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The Buckeyes couldn’t do anything to stop him, and this game adds yet another chapter to one of the most confusing basketball seasons you’ll ever see.
It’s clear that head coach Jake Diebler’s team has shown the ability to play at the same level as some of the elites in the Big Ten and college basketball in general. They lost to No. 15 Virginia by just four points two weeks ago, then lost to No. 15 Michigan State by six points by just six points.
In those games, they showed they could compete with the best teams in the country. Then they show up against Iowa in a game they had to win and look like they’ve never played basketball before.
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The only bright spot over the final two weeks of Ohio State’s season has been Bruce Thornton.
Thornton has been special all year and recently joined Steph Curry as the only players in college basketball history to have three consecutive games of 25+ points and fewer than two turnovers.
He was awful tonight.
At halftime he had only two points and finished the game with just 10 points on 3-8 shooting.
He can’t be perfect every night and he needed his teammates to step up, which they didn’t. Devin Royal and John Mobley Jr. combined for an efficient 31 points, but the rest of the team only scored 13 more points.
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The Buckeyes got nothing from their “other guys,” and they paid dearly for it.
Now, after this loss, the Buckeyes are very far away with three games to play. Although one of those matchups is against the No. 8 Purdue Boilermakers, they still need to go 3-0 to finish the season just to have a chance.
If they don’t, they’ll need a Big-Ten miracle tournament to make the Big Dance.
This is all improbable, and it’s all due to Ohio State’s very inconsistent season under head coach Jake Diebler.
Ohio State loses to the Iowa Hawkeyes 74-57 to fall to 17-11 on the year.
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