Iowa basketball notes: Ohio State recap, injury update

Iowa played perhaps its best game this season in a loss. The 73-68 defeat to No. 2 Ohio State didn't constitute a moral victory but it was a measure of progress for first-year Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery.

"I think our guys understood how important every possession was for us to beat this team," McCaffery said. "And that's what's upsetting about that one stretch where we just came apart, and I think didn't have the same intensity level and concentration."

Iowa (7-7, 0-2 Big Ten) led 45-42 with 14:14 left in the game. Ohio State (15-0, 2-0 Big Ten) then cruised on a 16-0 run and kept the Hawkeyes scoreless for 6:18. Iowa had nine scoreless possessions during the run.

"You know, we'll go back and beat ourselves up," McCaffery said. "Should we have taken another timeout in there? Should we have taken another one? Should we have taken it earlier? Should we have run a set play? Because we weren't running our sets, we weren't running our motion effectively in that period."

Outside of that six-minute stretch, Iowa was competitive with the Buckeyes. Iowa outrebounded Ohio State by four, outscored the Buckeyes 17-10 in second-change points and forced nine different ties or lead changes in the game.

"They (were) the bully and we were just taking it," said Ohio State freshman Jared Sullinger, who scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. "We've got to develop pride. Once somebody tries to bully us, we've got to bully back."

It was a record fifth straight win for Ohio State over Iowa in the series. The five-point margin was also the closest for the Buckeyes.

"Everybody thinks they look at Iowa and they see us and it's an automatic win," Sullinger said. "But when you're in the Big Ten anything goes."

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Iowa sophomore Eric May didn't play Tuesday after suffering a groin injury last week against Illinois. May participated in the pre-game shootaround but was only 60 percent, McCaffery said, and the starting guard/forward was held out.

McCaffery deferred to team trainer John Streif, who said May should sit out.

"If we sit him for another few days we should have him ready," McCaffery said. "Sometimes these things never go away completely.  But by giving him tonight and a few more days, I think we stand a better chance to have him at full strength the rest of the way."

Sophomore point guard Cully Payne, who has missed all but five games after hernia surgery, likely won't play the rest of this season, according to a source. Payne is unable yet to run and jump and can do only marginal conditioning. He won't be ready until mid-February at the earliest, and Iowa has just five regular-season games after Feb. 13. Payne will be eligible for a red-shirt season and have three years of eligibility if he's withheld from competition.