Ohio St. @ Iowa preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 26, 2019 ) Iowa 70, Ohio St. 90

Ohio State and Iowa face off for the only time this season Thursday night in a Big Ten matchup of Top 25 teams in Iowa City. The No. 24 Buckeyes and 20th-ranked Hawkeyes have met only five times in history when both were ranked, the last time in 2014 when Ohio State won at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Iowa might be without guard CJ Fredrick, one of its top outside scoring threats, for the third straight game because of a high ankle sprain as coach Fran McCaffery said Wednesday that the redshirt freshman is day-to-day. His status puts more of a burden offensively on Luka Garza, the Big Ten's leading scorer at 23.7 points per game, and forward Joe Wieskamp, who's averaging 14.9. Ohio State has adapted well since freshman guard D.J. Carton, an Iowa native, announced in January that he was taking time away to deal with mental health issues, winning five of its last six games. The Buckeyes have slowly worked their way toward the upper half of the Big Ten standings and could boost their conference record past .500 for the first time this season.

TV: 7 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN

ABOUT OHIO STATE (17-8, 7-7 Big Ten): Kyle Young gave the Buckeyes a significant boost in their 68-52 victory over Purdue on Saturday with a career-high 16 points and seven rebounds. When Young is effective, he provides a second inside presence to supplement Kaleb Wesson, the team's leading scorer and rebounder who finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, four steals and four assists against Purdue. Young and Wesson will be tested defensively against Iowa while trying to contain Garza, a candidate for conference and national player of the year.

ABOUT IOWA (18-8, 9-6): The Hawkeyes return home after a two-game road trip ended with a come-from-behind 58-55 win at Minnesota on Sunday when Garza scored 24 points and Ryan Kriener, who is getting more playing time with Fredrick on the shelf, added 10 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Garza also ranks fourth in the Big Ten in rebounding with 9.7 per game, and Wieskamp is ninth in the Big Ten in scoring and 13th in rebounding. Iowa leads the Big Ten in scoring at 78.2 points per game, but defensively the Hawkeyes are next to last in the conference, allowing 71.7.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Iowa G Connor McCaffery leads the country in assist-to-turnover ratio at 4.26 with 96 assists and 23 turnovers in 26 games.

2. Iowa has won 11 consecutive home games after a loss to DePaul on Nov. 11.

3. Ohio State reserve guard Justin Ahrens scored a career-best 29 points and made 6-of-10 3-point shots last season in a 90-70 victory over Iowa in Columbus.

PREDICTION: Ohio State 76, Iowa 75