Ohio State's run to the Big Ten Championship begins on Thursday afternoon with a very tough matchup against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
The Ohio State Buckeyes truly feel like they are a lock for the Big Dance, but one more victory in the Big Ten Tournament will all but confirm their spot.
The Buckeyes, however, do not have their sights set on just winning one game. They have their eyes on the prize and want the opportunity to compete for a Big Ten Championship.
To do that, they have to immediately right their wrongs from just a couple of weeks ago.
Needing a win after a very tough loss to Michigan State, the Buckeyes went to Iowa City with a midweek date with the Iowa Hawkeyes. The game was hardly a honeymoon as the Buckeyes were throttled by the Hawkeyes.
The final score was a 74-57 Hawkeyes victory, but it truly wasn't even that close. Iowa pushed it up to as much as a 25-point lead before the Buckeyes came fighting back a little bit towards the end to make the score (a little) more respectable.
This contest in the Big Ten tournament will be fascinating to see what the Buckeyes are. The biggest issue that Ohio State has had this year is winning consistently and winning on the road.
They have road losses to Michigan State, Wisconsin, Washington, and Michigan to go along with their slip-up against Iowa.
The Hawkeyes and the Buckeyes are directly in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten. Iowa finished with a 20-11 overall record with a 10-10 conference record, while the Buckeyes finished 20-11 and 12-8, respectively.
This is the most even game of the Big Ten Tournament so far, and the Buckeyes could really use a win. I would not consider this game a must-win for the Scarlet and Gray, but I do think that they could use it to cement themselves in the tournament and improve their line.
There have been so many bright spots on this Buckeyes team over the final two weeks of the season.
Bruce Thornton has been special all year and really turned it up as it got to crunch time at the end of the season.
Joh Mobley Jr. has also been a consistent bright spot for the Buckeyes. These two will need to continue to lead the Buckeyes through the tournament if they want to make a run at the Big Ten tournament title.
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