There are few teams in the country that needed a win more than Ohio State heading into its Feb. 4 showdown with Iowa.
It got just that with an impressive 76-69 showing.
The Buckeyes had lost five of seven contests, including a home game with the Hawkeyes, and virtually dropped out of the Big Ten race. It has been a long fall from the days of being ranked No. 3 in the country from earlier in the season, but two road wins at Wisconsin and Iowa may turn the season around.
Ohio State was looking for revenge but knew it would have its hands full if Aaron Craft was to be believed (per an Associated Press preview on Foxsports.com):
If anything it adds a little more bounce to your step. You never want to lose at home and we’ve been particularly pretty good over our time here at Ohio State. Anytime you lose one here, it sits with you a little bit. But we know it’s going to be a different game playing great basketball. They play differently at home, with the energy that they have going there. We have to go in with the right mindset.
As for Iowa, the Hawkeyes were two games behind Michigan and Michigan State in the Big Ten race before hosting the Buckeyes. This loss may be something of a proverbial dagger to their slim conference title hopes.
With March right around the corner and Big Ten play heating up, it was a hostile crowd in Iowa. In fact, every time Craft touched the ball he was routinely booed like he was LeBron James heading back to Cleveland.
If Jeremy Birmingham of…
Continue Reading: Ohio State vs. Iowa: Score, Grades and Analysis
