Field Level Media
Feb 10, 2018
Kaleb Wesson scored 18 points as No. 14 Ohio State defeated Iowa 82-64 in a Big Ten game Saturday night in Columbus, Ohio.
The Buckeyes claimed sole possession of first place in the Big Ten with the victory thanks to No. 4 Michigan State's 68-65 win over No. 3 Purdue earlier in the day.
Ohio State (13-1) now holds a one-game lead over Purdue (12-2) and Michigan State (12-2).
With this victory, Ohio State completed a sweep of its season series with the Hawkeyes. The Buckeyes scored a 92-81 victory at Iowa on Jan. 4.
Wesson, a 6-foot-9 freshman forward, also added seven rebounds. Keita Bates-Diop (14 points, eight rebounds), C.J. Jackson (14 points), Jae'Sean Tate (11 points) and Micah Potter (10 points) helped as five Buckeyes finished in double figures.
Iowa (12-15, 3-11) now has lost six of its last eight games and nine of its last 12.
Jack Nunge (18 points) and Jordan Bohannon (11 points) led the Hawkeyes in scoring.
Ohio State took the lead during the first half, pushed the advantage to 10 points at halftime and blew the game open in the second half.
The Buckeyes started the second half with an 20-4 run which gave them a 62-38 lead and complete control.
Ohio State was able to overcome Iowa's size by shooting well from the outside -- the Buckeyes made 9 of 22 3-pointers (41 percent) -- and also scored well down low.
Iowa did not shoot nearly as well, especially from the outside (6-for-20 on 3-pointers) and could not keep up with Ohio State.
The Buckeyes started a little slowly on offense but heated up midway through the first half and shot 56 percent from the floor en route to a 42-32 halftime lead.
In the first half, Iowa held an 18-15 lead midway through before Ohio State then reeled off eight straight points which gave it the lead for good.
The Buckeyes slowly stretched the lead out with some long-range shooting -- they finished with six 3-pointers in that first half -- en route to the 10-point halftime edge.
--Field Level Media