No. 1 Ohio State stifles Iowa, rolls to easy win

COLUMBUS, Ohio - In the beginning and the end, there was too much defense for Iowa to contend.

No. 1-ranked Ohio State's defense strangled the Hawkeyes, then the Buckeyes threw perhaps the nation's best collection of athletes at Iowa on each offensive possession. No matter the approach, Iowa couldn't match the Buckeyes at either end of the court.

Ohio State rolled past Iowa 70-48 last night at Value City Arena, sending the Hawkeyes to its worst Big Ten start in school history. Iowa (7-11 overall) falls to 0-6 in league play for the first time. It was also the 22nd consecutive loss for Iowa against ranked opponents, dating to 2008.

“I think everybody understands who we're playing against,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. “We've played six really good teams, but at the same time the reality is we're still 0-6. Nobody's happy about it. We had chances to win some of those games. I feel like at times we made strides getting to where we can with some of those games.”

In practice the Buckeyes (19-0, 6-0) emphasized 40 minutes of defense, and the emphasis showed from the opening possession. Ohio State held Iowa scoreless on its first four offensive possessions and nine of its first 11. Even in its traditional zone defense, Ohio State guarded the Hawkeyes will little room to maneuver.

Iowa finished with a season-high 23 turnovers and four players committed at least three. Ohio State point guard Aaron Craft set a freshman team record for steals with seven, and Ohio State grabbed 11 overall.

“They set the tempo of the game,” Iowa junior Matt Gatens said. “They threw the first punch, and it seemed like we didn't respond the whole game. We're a much better team than that.”

Ohio State's defense loosened at times, but Iowa couldn't convert. Multiple times in the first half Iowa missed wide-open jumpers and layups at the basket.

“I think we just executed poorly,” Iowa point guard Bryce Cartwright said. “It seemed like the basket had a lid on it tonight. We wasn't able to get any rhythm, and they were contributing to that.”

At the same time, Iowa struggled to keep up defensively. Post players Jarryd Cole and Melsahn Basabe paid special attention to Ohio State freshman forward Jared Sullinger early, which left senior center Dallas Lauderdale open for two dunks, an easy layup and a free throw in the first 5 minutes, 32 seconds to take a 12-4 lead.

When the Hawkeyes sagged on the post, Ohio State's perimeter game soared. William Buford, Aaron Craft and David Lighty combined for four 3-pointers over the following 10 minutes to extend Ohio State's lead to 14 points. In the second half, it was back to the post with Sullinger and Lauderdale. Then it was Lighty, who scored a game-high 18 points, including 10 in the second half.

“Obviously we didn't come with the energy level to play the No. 1-rated team defensively,” McCaffery said.

Iowa did have a few bright spots. Melsahn Basabe finished with 11 points after scoring just two in the first half. Junior Andrew Brommer had perhaps his most complete game with team highs in points (12), rebounds (six) and blocks (three) plus he took multiple charges in the second half.

But the individual efforts failed to take the sting out of Iowa's record sixth straight loss to Ohio State or losing to the nation's top team on the road.

“You don't get many opportunities to play the No. 1 team in the country - you rarely ever do - and we didn't get the most out of that opportunity,” Gatens said. “It's disappointing because we're a better team than that.”