Ohio State rolls Iowa in second half

IOWA CITY - After a sluggish, yet competitive first half, Iowa's offense basically went to sleep at halftime.

Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, Ohio State's offense did not.

The No. 6 Buckeyes rolled Iowa 76-47 Saturday afternoon at near sold out Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa trailed by just three points with 2:19 left in the first half, but the Buckeyes exploded late in the first half. It spilled over into the second half.

Ohio State went on a 16-2 run to take a 17-point lead with 17:53 left in the game. Iowa tried to rally, but stumbled repeatedly over itself offensively. Iowa scored just four points over nearly 8 minutes and trailed by 33 at one point in the second half.

Ohio State sophomore Jared Sullinger scored a game-high 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds. William Buford had a tough day shooting, missing his first 10 shots, but scored eight points and had 11 rebounds.

Eric May had nine points and six rebounds to lead Iowa in both categories. The announced attendance was 15,400, just 100 seats shy of a sellout.

First-half summary:

Iowa's offense picked a bad day to have a bad day.

The Hawkeyes shot just 21.7 percent in the first half - 5 of 23 - and trails Ohio State 28-19 Saturday afternoon at jammed Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Iowa (10-6, 2-1 Big Ten) struggled to mount any consistent offense, turning the ball over 12 times. Bryce Cartwright and Melsahn Basabe did not score in the first half for Iowa.

Ohio State (14-2, 2-1) also was inconsistent, but scored 18 points in the paint, including eight on second-chance opportunities. William Buford, who ranks eighth in career scoring, missed all 10 shots in the first half. But sophomore Jared Sullinger scored 15 to lead the Buckeyes.

Ohio State shot just 39.4 percent from the foul and had 10 first-half fouls.

The game was tied at 9-9 when Iowa's Aaron White converted on a pair of free throws. But Iowa then went seven possessions without scoring and the Buckeyes went on a 9-0 run.

Iowa cut Ohio State's lead to 22-19 with 2:19 left, but the Buckeyes went on a 6-0 run to close the half.