Ohio State basketball loses first game at home

The Ohio State basketball team jumped out to a 21-10 lead over Iowa early. They looked good early, being able to shoot very well from the field. Malaki Branham was hot early, hitting his first four shots. It all didn’t matter because the Buckeyes lost the game.

Ohio State fell 75-62 in their first loss at home of the season. In the second half, the game wasn’t particularly close. Iowa dominated in every sense of the game. Keegan Murray had 24 points for Iowa and led the way for the Hawkeyes in the second half.

Iowa’s domination on the boards hurt the Buckeyes. Iowa had 20 offensive rebounds in the game. That allowed Iowa so many second possessions that they were able to score on. The Ohio State basketball team just didn’t look comfortable in the entire half.

Branham led the way for the Buckeyes, scoring 22 points on 9-13 shooting. He was the most efficient shooting. E.J. Liddell had 15 points. Kyle Young added 10 as well. Other than that, there weren’t any contributors for the Buckeyes, which is why they lost.

This loss hurts the Buckeyes. Ohio State’s chances of winning a Big Ten title were hurt severely with losing this game. They needed to win the games at home they had left to have a shot. This is the type of game this team needs to win; against a decent team at home.

This kind of game just confirms that the Buckeyes aren’t that good. They just got our hopes up that they might be able to make a run, but they truly aren’t capable of actually winning a game against a tough team when it matters, aka in the NCAA Tournament.

At least we have clarity as to how good this team is now.