Ohio State’s Evan Mahaffey and Iowa’s Riley Mulvey get tangled over a rebound…and neither came up with the ball. The Buckeyes, however, came up with an 82-65 win. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Sonny Fulks)
Ohio State breaks its three-game home losing streak and follows it’s big win over Purdue with one of its most complete performances of the season.
Columbus, OH – All that leave-no-doubt Ohio State football talk rubbed off on the men’s basketball team for at least one evening.
The national champions were in Value City Arena on Monday night and witnessed a dominant second half by their basketball brethren. For only the second time this season in a Big Ten game, the basketball Buckeyes left no doubt.
Ohio State led by as many as 25 points in the second half. They outrebounded Iowa by 12. They did everything but put a lid over the basket. The Hawkeyes did that all by themselves. And Ohio State won at home for the first time in 2025 with an 82-65 drubbing that sent Iowa home wondering what happened.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State basketball and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
“Really impressive defense,” Ohio State coach Jake Diebler said. “We had some great prep heading into it. And I think our physicality and aggressiveness defensively is continuing to get better.”
The Buckeyes needed that kind of effort after playing roulette with each of their past five games, three of them losses. All those games, including the surprising win at Purdue, were decided on the final possession. That is the longest such streak in program history.
But the defense made sure fans could leave early Monday if they wanted to.
Iowa entered the game averaging 86 points, shooting 51% from the field and 39% from 3-point range. But against the Buckeyes the Hawkeyes were anything but deadeyes. They shot 39% overall, 28% from three and 59% on free throws. The Buckeyes made Iowa resemble Evansville the night the Purple Aces lost 80-30 in Value City and shot 19% overall and 11% from three.
The Buckeyes (12-8, 4-5 Big Ten) have been so up and down that this performance was far from guaranteed. But they showed no letdown against the Hawkeyes (13-8, 4-6) coming off the big win at Purdue.
Bruce Thornton fights through traffic in the lane to score two of his 15 points.
“We’re continuing to grow and get better,” Diebler said. “After that Purdue game, we didn’t just sit and show highlights.”
Ohio State led 30-26 at halftime. All Iowa had going for it in the first half was center Owen Freeman and guard Drew Thelwell with 11 points apiece. They combined for 12 in the second half and didn’t get much help.
The Buckeyes started the second half with a 20-6 run to open a 50-32 lead with 12:25 left when center Sean Stewart turned a steal into a dunk. During the run the Buckeyes crashed the offensive boards and attacked Iowa’s attempts at pressure.
The lead hit 23 twice before Iowa showed a hint of the kind of hot-shooting run it is known to ignite. The Hawkeyes’ modest 6-0 run cut the lead to 64-48 with seven minutes left. But after a timeout, Micah Parrish made a 3-pointer to ignite a 12-3 run that pushed Ohio State to a game-high 25-point lead with under five minutes left.
Ohio State had balanced scoring and got contributions all over the stat sheet and in hustle plays from nine players, including Evan Mahaffey with four points, five rebounds and the ability to be in the right spot at the right time in his 12 minutes.
Logan Services, in Dayton, Cincinnati, an Columbus, is a proud sponsor of area sports on Press Pros.
Parrish scored 18 points, Bruce Thornton had 15, John Mobley Jr. and Devin Royal had 12 apiece and Aaron Bradshaw had nine.
The Buckeyes didn’t allow an offensive rebound in the second half. Thornton and Royal grabbed eight rebounds each. And Mobley Jr., despite making only two of his 10 3-point attempts, had eight assists. Diebler likes the way the freshman is contributing on both ends of the floor and helping the offense even when his shot is off.
Iowa’s Drew Thelwell rises to score two of his team-high 20 points in Monday’s loss to the Buckeyes.
“I love to coach John Mobley Jr. – he is fun to coach because he’s so competitive,” Diebler said. “Often times when you go to coach him, he already comes over and says what he needs to do differently because he’s so smart. He’s got to play with a little more poise, he’s got to continue to get that experience.”
There was a moment in the second half when Mobley Jr. helped too much off Iowa sharpshooter Payton Sandfort and Sandfort made an open three. Mobley Jr. left the game and Diebler had the dry-erase board out reminding Mobley Jr. not to leave Sandfort open for any reason.
The Buckeyes were able to handle the problems Iowa presents a defense with their multiple three-point shooters and the threat of Freeman in the post. Diebler used Stewart and seven-footers Bradshaw and Ivan Njegovan against Freeman. And to keep the shooters covered, the Buckeyes did not double team Freeman.
Njegovan played only six minutes, but he blocked Freeman’s shot in the first half and Freeman’s early-game momentum was gone.
“Because guarding the three-point line was so important against this team, especially as we got a lead in the second half, we weren’t going to double,” Diebler said. “We put guys on an island, and I thought they fought hard. We did a good job certainly when he caught it, but I thought we did a better job of limiting some of his touches. That was an important part of the game plan.”
Ohio State’s Ivan Njegovan eyes his block of Iowa’s Owen Freeman in the first half of Monday’s 82-65 Buckeye win.
The Dave Arbogast family of dealerships is the official transportation source for Press Pros Magazine.com.