The Hawkeyes will meet the Buckeyes in the Big Ten Tournament for the fourth consecutive season.
CHICAGO - For the fourth consecutive time in the Big Ten Tournament, Iowa and Ohio State will meet. This meeting will have the highest stakes, as both teams are vying for spots in the NCAA tournament.
The Buckeyes won the first two meetings in 2023 and 2024, but the Hawkeyes got some revenge last year with an upset victory in the first round.
Here's everything you need to know about Thursday's matchup:
Game Information
Game Time: 11 a.m. CST
TV: Big Ten Network
Announcers: Jeff Levering (play-by-play), Don MacLean (color), Rick Pizzo (sideline)
LINE: Iowa -1.5 (Draft Kings)
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Arena: United Center
Game Notes
• Redshirt freshman Cooper Koch scored a career-high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting with five 3-pointers in Iowa’s Big Ten Tournament win over Maryland. In Iowa’s last three games away from Iowa City, Koch has averaged 18.3 points with 16 three-point field goals.
• Senior Bennett Stirtz finished with 17 points, six rebounds and eight assists in the win over the Terps. He is the first Hawkeye with those numbers in a BTT game. If you add in his two steals, he’s the fifth Big Ten player all-time to do that in a BTT contest.
- The Hawkeyes’ 21 wins this season are the most for the program since 2021-22.
• Head coach Ben McCollum’s has led his team to 15th straight 20-win seasons and he is one of two Hawkeye head coaches (Dr. Tom Davis) to win at least 20 games in year one.
• Stirtz has scored 30+ points three times and 20+ points in 11 of the last 15 games (18 times this season; third-most in Big Ten). His 36 points against Northwestern are the most by a Hawkeye since Luka Garza in 2021 and are tied for the fourth-most in a game in Carver-Hawkeye Arena history.
• Stirtz finished third in the Big Ten in scoring in league-only games, averaging 22.2 points to go along with 3.8 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals with a .500/.373/.839 shooting clip. He had three 30-point and 13 20-point contests in league play.
• Over his last 14 games, Stirtz has played 40 minutes nine times and has been on the court for all but 6:34 of the possible 565 minutes of game action.
• Iowa ranks 26th nationally in field goal percentage, shooting 49.1 percent. The team also is 25th in effective field goal percentage (.563).
• The Hawkeyes are allowing 65.8 points per game -- the fewest in the Big Ten and 15th-fewest nationally. Iowa has held eight opponents at 60 points or less this season -- the most since 2014-15.
• Iowa has held all but three opponents below its team season scoring average on the year
Scouting Ohio State
Iowa bested Ohio State by 17 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 25, but the Buckeyes have looked like a different team since then. Senior point guard Bruce Thornton (20. 1 PPG), has never played in the NCAA tournament in his career, and he's simply willing Ohio State to the Dance.
The Hawkeyes held Thornton in check, but he's scored 20 or more points in two of the three games since - including 20 points in an upset win over then-No. 8 Purdue.
Thornton's strong play has carried to the rest of his team, as they dismantled Indiana and Penn State by 23 and 22 points to close the regular season, respectively.
The Buckeyes boast one of the Big Ten's best scoring attacks, but they've struggled to defend - allowing 73 points per game. Bart Torvik ranks Ohio State's defensive efficiency rating at No. 51, well-behind Iowa's No. 32.
Prediction: Ohio State 70, Iowa 61
Iowa can match up well with Ohio State, which has been well-documented, but I have a hard time seeing the Hawkeyes slow down Thornton twice. He's just too good of a player to let that happen, and he's playing at an unreal level right now.
The Buckeyes pull away in the final minutes to send Iowa home.