This one had the makings of some frustrating games of the past. Big game with stakes on both sides but Iowa no shows the start while an opponent gets hot. The Hawkeyes are constantly clawing back but can never climb the mountain, stuck in mud most of the day.
After John Mobley, Jr. made his first two threes while sporting a wrap on his shooting hand’s pinky and then Amare Bynum stepped out for a pair of his own to get OSU up 14-2, it definitely had that feel. But Ben McCollum said not so fast, called
a timeout to right the ship, and Iowa promptly went on a 21-1 run to flip the script en route to a 74-57 win for the Iowa Hawkeyes (20-8, 10-7). It’s their first 20-win season since 2021-22. The Ohio State Buckeyes fell to 17-11, 9-8.
It was a total team effort to regain the lead. Alvaro Folgueiras, who was excellent tonight and finished with 20 points, got the lid off the basket with a layup for Iowa’s first field goal 5:36 into the game. Following a Buckeye free throw, it was an 18-0 run where Kael Combs got off the schneid with a 3, Cooper Koch as well, and Trevon Jirak added a pair of free throws in positive minutes. And oh yeah, Bennett Stirtz. He had eight of those 18 points.
18-0 runs don’t happen without excellent defense and the Hawks performed well there. It took well into the second half before reigning Big Ten player of the week Bruce Thornton got his first basket. After the first half timeout, Iowa turned the screws on in their pick and roll coverage with doubles and hard hedges. There were tons of bodies in the lane to cut Thornton off as well. Combs during stretches did well denying him the ball.
By the time the run was done, there were just 2:31 left in the half with the Hawks up 33-18. They’d enter the half up 37-23. Stirtz finished the half with 10 and Cam Manyawu added 8.
In the second half, Iowa got a little loose defensively by allowing a pick and pop 3 which cut Iowa’s lead to 40-30. Ohio State’s zone gave Iowa some fits throughout the game, including a couple stops early in the frame. Another McCollum timeout to reset on principles against the zone and even though OSU came out in man-to-man, Folgueiras was able to get an and-one, which spurred on an 11-2 run which for all intents and purposes put the game out of reach.
The exclamation point on the game happened where Tavion Banks found Folgueiras for a layup with a behind the back pass. Big Al returned the favor to find Banks for a dunk. Then Folgueiras had a true jam session and breakaway euro step/layup to stretch the lead to 23 points, the largest of the game. Hell yeah, brother.
Even including the start, a truly complete game. 57 points was the lowest OSU has scored all season as Iowa held them to 6/13 on layups and forced 11 turnovers for 15 points. The Hawks had 44 points in the paint, which had Bruce Weber going nuts with his 19/22 at the rim stat. Bennett Stirtz did Bennett Stirtz things. 8/11 for 22 points to lead the game.
Perhaps most important for the development of this team is Folgueiras having his best game in the black and gold. He added 5 assists and a pair of steals as he went full “El Pulpo” for the first time in conference play. McCollum played Al, Manyawu, and Koch for long stretches together for a super sized lineup.
They’ll head to State College for a date with Penn State on Saturday. Don’t enjoy Friday too much as it’s an 11:00 tip.
