The Buckeyes shrunk in the biggest moment of the season, likely costing them an NCAA Tournament berth for the third straight season.
The Ohio State men’s basketball team saw their NCAA Tournament dreams get put to bed in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament Wednesday night, falling to the 15-seed Iowa Hawkeyes 77-70 in Indianapolis.
The Buckeyes entered Wednesday night’s game squarely on the bubble, considered one of the last four teams in the field by most bracket models. This loss likely pushes them out of the field, and it remains to be seen if Ohio State will participate in any other post-season tournaments.
Ohio State kept Iowa off the board for the first 5:49 of the game, but didn’t take advantage of the good defense, only going 1-for-7 at the same time, and taking a 6-0 lead. The Hawkeyes turned the ball over five times in the first six minutes, gifting the Buckeyes five points off of those turnovers.
As expected, Iowa started to get some shots to fall, dropping in four consecutive shots to tie the game up 8-8 by the under-12 timeout with 11:58 remaining. Micah Parrish picked up two critical fouls in a 15-second-span with about 14 minutes left, which sent him to the bench for a good long while. That opened up a little space for guys like Payton Sandfort and Josh Dix — two guys who struggled when these teams faced each other back in January.
Brock Harding got nifty with this finish @IowaHoops#B1GMBBT on Peacock pic.twitter.com/COSvQ8yMgS
— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) March 12, 2025
A Devin Royal dunk plus the foul from Pryce Sandfort sent Royal to the line with Ohio State up 23-21 at the under-eight media timeout. After missing their first four shots, Iowa went and hit 9 of their next 12 and put Ohio State on its heels in a game that they absolutely had to have. Royal hit the free throw to make it 24-21, giving Ohio State its first three-point lead in over six minutes.
A Drew Thelwell three-pointer gave Iowa a 29-28 lead with 4:37 left to go until halftime, as the Hawkeyes continued to scorch the nets after snapping out of that initial lull. On the other end, Ohio State started to settle for some contested three-pointers, perhaps feeling the pressure of the moment on their shoulders a bit.
Mobley Jr. ties this one up at the half for @OhioStateHoops #B1GMBBT on Peacock pic.twitter.com/XNVhEIY9g0
— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) March 12, 2025
Mobley knocked down a three-pointer with seven seconds remaining in the first half to tie the game at 37 apiece. Ohio State only shot 39.3% in the first half to Iowa’s 51.9%, but the Buckeyes got to the free throw line 13 times, hitting 10 of those 13 attempts, while Iowa only shot three free throws in the first half.
Royal had 10 first-half points for Ohio State on 4-of-7 shooting. Brock Harding had 10 points and three assists in the first half.
Iowa opened up a four-point lead by the first media timeout of the second half, getting the offensive rebounds and seven quick points from Payton Sandfort. The Buckeyes only got one defensive stop in the first five minutes of the second half, and began to fall behind as Iowa continued to drain shots. Royal was the only viable offensive threat for much of this game, but Ohio State still settled for contested jumpers far too often.
A bad pass from Mobley intended for Parrish was picked off by Seydou Traore with 14:20 left in the game and he ran it back for a pick-six, putting Iowa up a game-high six points, 52-46. Jake Diebler called timeout as the game started to turn in the wrong direction for Ohio State.
Another steal and full coast dunk by Parrish cut Iowa’s lead to 54-50 by the under-12 media timeout with 11:33 left in the game. Ohio State was getting the ball to drop in the basket, but weren’t getting enough defensive stops to establish any type of run.
The Buckeyes took the lead for 17 seconds on a Bruce Thornton jumper in the lane, but right after Iowa got back-to-back buckets from the younger Sandfort to go ahead three once again, 61-58, with 7:27 left in the game. Ohio State was getting good, consistent offense near the basket, but weren’t getting back on defense and Iowa was taking advantage nearly every possession.
Parrish tied the game 61-61 on an and-one layup with 7:25 remaining, but Ohio State did not score a bucket for the next four minutes, allowing Iowa to re-take the lead and put the Buckeyes in the grave. Pryce Sandfort’s three-pointer with 3:46 remaining put Iowa up 68-61, and the Buckeyes would not recover, falling 77-70 in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Thornton led Ohio State with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting in 38 minutes, and also dished out nine assists. Payton Sandfort had 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting in 35 minutes.
If you weren’t around on Wednesday night to see the Hawkeyes land the fatal blow to Ohio State’s NCAA Tournament chances, here were a few key moments in what may have been their last game of the season:
Hawkeyes held scoreless for the first 5:49
Partially thanks to good defense from Ohio State and partially thanks to Iowa turning the ball over five times, Iowa took nearly six minutes to score in this game. A Ladji Dembele bucket with 14:11 remaining in the first half got Iowa on the board and cut Ohio State’s lead to 6-2.
Parrish picks up two quick fouls
With 14:38 remaining in the first half, Micah Parrish picked up a personal foul, and then picked up a second foul just 15 seconds later. The senior has the most NCAA Tournament experience of anyone on the team, but was relegated to the bench for almost five minutes because of foul trouble.
Coincidentally, Iowa started to see some shots drop in right after. He sat for almost five minutes and was subbed back in when the game was tied 11-11.
Iowa’s 10-4 run gives them the lead
After a steal and slam from Parrish gave Ohio State a 28-24 lead with 5:31 remaining in the game, the Hawkeyes got baskets from four different players to go on a 10-4 run, capped off by a Josh Dix fadeaway jumper that gave Iowa a 34-32 lead.
Mobley ties it before halftime
With seven seconds remaining until halftime, Micah Parrish backed down Dix in the paint, drawing help defense before kicking out to Mobley on the wing, who knocked down an off-balance three-pointer to tie the game 37-37 going into the halftime break.
Traore puts Iowa up six
With 14:21 remaining in the game, Mobley tried to pass the ball to Parrish towards the top of the circle but Traore read it perfectly, picking it off and running it back for an easy dunk to put the Hawkeyes up, 52-46. The Hawkeyes got a long two-point shot from Dix on the very next possession to make it 54-46 — their biggest lead of the game.
Sandfort hits the dagger
With Iowa up 65-61, Pryce Sandfort nailed a three-pointer from just in front of Iowa’s bench, putting the 15-seed up seven points with just under four minutes left in the game.
What’s next?
Ohio State will await its postseason fate, and will most likely be invited to the CBB Crown Tournament as one of the two-highest rated Big Ten teams not invited to the NCAA Tournament. This new tournament will take place from March 31 to April 6 in Las Vegas.