Iowa men's basketball at Ohio State: Final score, stats, highlights

Ohio State earned a season split with No. 21 Iowa, beating the Hawkeyes 90-70 Tuesday night at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Iowa slipped to 21-7 overall and 10-7 in the Big Ten. Ohio State is now 18-10, 8-9.

Coverage from Columbus

» Ohio State and Fran McCaffery both red hot in Iowa's loss

» Recap: Justin Ahrens scores 29, Buckeyes blitz Hawkeyes

Turning point: The Buckeyes blitzed the Hawkeyes with 15 points in the first 4 1/2 minutes after halftime to turn a 36-33 lead into 51-42. Justin Ahrens drilled a pair of 3-pointers and C.J. Jackson had another in a 44-second stretch. Iowa got within seven later in the half, but Ohio State stayed hot, making 13 of its first 17 shots and six of its first eight 3-pointers.

MVP: Ahrens came into this game averaging 2.1 points. He finished with a game-high 29. The junior forward hit 6 of 10 3-pointers and all nine free throw attempts, plus added three rebounds and two assists.

Key stat: 16. That's how many more points Ohio State star forward Kaleb Wesson had in this game than Iowa's 72-62 win over the Buckeyes in January. He also contributed 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals in an all-around performance that Ohio State was counting on.

Stat leaders

Points — Joe Wieskamp, Iowa (17); Justin Ahrens, Ohio State (29)

Rebounds — Tyler Cook, Iowa (10); Kaleb Wesson, Ohio State (11)

Assists — Connor McCaffery, Iowa (3); C.J. Jackson, Ohio State (6)

Steals — Tyler Cook, Iowa (2); Kaleb Wesson, Ohio State (3)

Blocks — Connor McCaffery, Iowa (1); Andre Wesson, Ohio State (2)

3-Pointers — Joe Wieskamp, Iowa (5-6); Justin Ahrens, Ohio State (6-10)

» Box score

Up next: Iowa begins March with a home game this Saturday against Rutgers at 4 p.m. (BTN).