Iowa hands Ohio State another loss
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Roy Devin Marble scored 22 points, Aaron White added 19 and No. 20 Iowa ended the game on a 22-9 run to hand No. 3 Ohio State its second loss of the week, 84-74 on Sunday.
Melsahn Besabe had 11 points and 10 rebounds, Mike Gesell added 11 points and Jarrod Uthoff had 10 off the bench for the Hawkeyes (14-3, 3-1 Big Ten), who ended a string of eight straight losses to the Buckeyes.
LaQuinton Ross scored 22 points, Amir Williams had 11 and Lenzelle Smith Jr. 10 for Ohio State (15-2, 2-2), which had opened with 15 consecutive wins. The Buckeyes fell 72-68 in overtime at No. 5 Michigan State on Tuesday night.
It was Iowa’s first win over a top 5 team since an 83-65 victory at No. 2 Missouri on Dec. 15, 2001.
Iowa was 0-2 on opponents’ home courts coming in. Their three losses have come against teams with a combined 45-2 record (Villanova, Iowa State and Wisconsin) — with each loss coming by five or fewer points.
The victory ended a record eight-game winning streak in the series by Ohio State, dating to a 53-48 win in Iowa City on Feb. 2, 2008. The Hawkeyes had not won in Columbus since 2004, losing on their last seven trips.
With the teams mostly trading baskets through the first 22 minutes, Ohio State seemed to gain an edge with its defense.
Ross tied it at 41 on a 3-pointer from the left corner, then hit two free throws. Williams then intercepted an inbounds pass that led to Smith jamming on a fast break for a 45-41 lead. The lead swelled to 53-44 on Amedeo Della Valle’s 3, also from the left corner.
But the Hawkeyes didn’t wilt.
They scored 11 of the next 13 points, with Gesell’s 3 from the top of the key tying it at 55 with 10:25 remaining.
Down 65-62 with less than 6 minutes left, the Hawkeyes put together a run.
A free throw by Uthoff and another by Marble cut the lead to a point before Uthoff scored consecutive baskets, both on layups. The first, at the 4:55 mark, put the Hawkeyes up 66-65.
Ohio State suddenly couldn’t do much right. The Buckeyes gave up repeated shots when the Hawkeyes snagged offensive rebounds, and at the other end they had difficulty even hanging on to the ball. Marble stole the ball from Ross before Uthoff’s second layup and then Ross was called for a travel under pressure.
Marble was fouled in the backcourt and hit both shots for a 70-65 Iowa lead with 3 1-2 minutes remaining.
The Hawkeyes led by four when White — an Ohio native — had the ball tipped away, recovered it beyond midcourt, and then drove to hit a 12-foot fallaway as the shot clock was running down with 2:06 left.
That made it 74-68 and Ohio State never made a serious threat again.
Iowa outrebounded the Buckeyes 40-31 and had just 10 turnovers.
The Hawkeyes scored on their final three possessions of the opening half to overcome a two-point deficit and lead 37-35.