The Ohio State basketball team has had a very strange season. They have some of the best wins in the country, with wins over Kentucky at a neutral site and on the road against Purdue. They also have some horrible losses, most notably to Maryland, and blown games against Indiana and Oregon.
Quite frankly, it looked like their season was slipping away after losing to IU at home. That loss put them in the bottom three in the Big Ten standings. Not only did it look like the NCAA Tournament was out of reach, but the Big Ten Tournament looked like it might be as well.
That win at Purdue may have turned the season around because they look like a different team. On Monday night, they crushed Iowa in a game at the Schott, winning 82-65. It was a game that they completely took over at the end of the first half and never looked back.
The Ohio State basketball team dominates Iowa
Bruce Thornton was great once again. It seems that every time he plays well, the team wins. He finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, and three assists on 5-8 shooting. He was efficient and solid throughout. Juni Mobley added eight assists of his own, as well.
Defensively, the Buckeyes were outstanding. The Hawkeyes average over 85 points per game, and the Buckeyes held them to just 65 points. They also held Iowa to just 39% shooting from the field. That's really what allowed them to win this game in such dominating fashion.
If Ohio State can play defense like this, they have a shot to get into the NCAA Tournament. They're still under .500 in the Big Ten, so they have to make a run. But their next game is at Penn State, which is one of the worst teams in the Big Ten. They have a chance to keep going on a run.