Iowa fans certainly think Hausen was fouled on his game-tying three point attempt in the final seconds, but a film session reveals a veteran play by Ohio State's John Mobley Jr.
CHICAGO - Thursday afternoons are usually quiet in the Windy City, but that wasn't the case on March 12.
While office workers were silently typing away and sipping their coffee in various buildings in downtown Chicago, the noise in the nearby United Center was increasing by the second.
Despite trailing by as many as 16 in the second half, Iowa basketball suddenly had a chance to tie Ohio State and force overtime in the third round of the Big Ten tournament.
7.8 seconds remaining - plenty of time for head coach Ben McCollum to craft a creative play. Whatever the play call was didn't pan out the way Iowa wanted to.
The inbound pass came to senior guard Brendan Hausen. The Kansas State transfer had not seen any game action since the Feb. 28 loss to Penn State, but played 10 minutes in the second half.
Hausen caught the ball in the corner and immediately turned and fired. The senior is known as a three-point specialist (38% in his career), so McCollum giving him the green light wasn't a surprise, but the decision to shoot the ball in that moment was a bit of a shock.
The defender, John Mobley Jr., was right in Hausen's vicinity, but despite having ample time to find a better shot, Hausen went ahead and launched a fadeaway triple. The shot never had a chance, and the ball clanked off the top of the backboard.
The Hawkeyes had an additional look at the tie on the next possession, but Isaia Howard's desperation three (from nearly the same spot on the floor) was too strong. Ohio State fans celebrated the win, while Iowa fans slumped back into their red-cladded United Center seats in disbelief.
Many Hawkeye fans voiced their frustrations about the play on social media, with some arguing Hausen got fouled. This video, taken from the press box, makes it hard to get a good read on what happened, but Mobley Jr. looked to reach for Hausen's waist.
If Mobley Jr. makes contact with Hausen, it's an easy foul call for the official. Hausen and McCollum sure seemed to think it was a foul.
“He fouled me. They said they were going to foul coming out the huddle. Heard them say it, [Mobley] grabbed me," Hausen told DITV's Collin Carrithers in the locker room after the game.
"To be honest, I think they tried to foul him. I'd have to go back and watch it, but I think they tried to foul him. That's why he shot that. So it looked worse than it actually was," McCollum said. "You'll see the kid reach it and kind of shove him. And so he shot it, knowing he was going to get fouled."
When McCollum goes back and looks at the film, this is the likely outcome of that film session:
Mobley Jr. did reach for and maybe even placed his hands on Hausen's hip. There's not a lot of contact, and it almost looks like Mobley Jr. faked the foul attempt to bait Hausen into taking the shot.
That strategy obviously worked, but Hausen's decision to shoot the ball wasn't a mistake by any stretch of imagination. He's a veteran player trying to make a play,
Why would Hausen take the shot? Because he's a veteran player trying to make a play. College basketball coaches often employ the strategy of fouling while up three to avoid this very scenario of their opponent getting a clean look for the tie.
If you remember Hausen's postgame comments, you'll see that he recalls the Buckeyes saying they were planning to foul when they came out of the huddle.
When you look at the film, that's exactly what Ohio State did, which if true will probably go down as one of the smartest tactics Jake Diebler has utilized in his tenure as the Buckeyes' head coach.
Was it a well-executed play by the Hawkeyes? Probably not, but the main conclusion from this play was that there were two veteran players using their high basketball IQs to win a postseason game.
Ohio State just ended up on the right side of it. Move on.