The Ohio State Buckeyes' tournament hopes are all but slashed after gutless performance against Iowa.
The Ohio State Buckeyes' NCAA Tournament hopes all but died on Wednesday night at the hands of the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Ohio State got off to a 14-2 start in the first five minutes of the game, and the preceeded to win the next 35 minutes 72-43. They did it with defensive toughness and a relentless attack at the rim.
The Buckeyes could do nothing to stop it, and this game adds yet another chapter to one of the most confusing seasons of basketball that you will ever see.
It's clear that head coach Jake Diebler's squad has shown the ability to play at the same level as some of the elites in the Big Ten and College Basketball at large. They lost to No. 15 Virginia by just four points two weeks ago and then by just six points to No. 15 Michigan State by six points.
In those games, they showed that they can hang with the best teams in the country. Then, they show up against Iowa in a game they needed to win and look like they have never played basketball before.
The lone bright spot over the past two weeks of Ohio State's season was Bruce Thornton.
Thornton has been special all year and has recently joined Steph Curry as the only players in College Basketball history to have three straight games of 25-plus points and less than two turnovers.
He was dreadful tonight.
At halftime, he only had two points and finished the game with just 10 points on 3-8 shooting.
He can't be perfect every night and needed his teammates to step up, which they did not. Devin Royal and John Mobley Jr. combined for an efficient 31 points, but the rest of the team only chipped in 13 more points.
The Buckeyes got nothing from their "other guys," and they paid for it dearly.
Now, after this loss, the Buckeyes are very much on the outside looking in with three games to go. While one of those matchups is against the No. 8 Purdue Boilermakers, they still need to go 3-0 to finish the season just to have a chance.
If they do not, they will need a miracle Big-Ten Tournament run to get into the Big Dance.
It's all unlikely, and it's all thanks to Ohio State's very inconsistent season under head coach Jake Diebler.
Ohio State loses to the Iowa Hawkeyes 74-57 to fall to 17-11 on the year.
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