With four games left in the regular season, Ohio State has still not been able to put together a stretch that has guaranteed it a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Now, with a game at Iowa on Wednesday night, the Buckeyes are hoping to get themselves back on the right side of the bubble with a Quad 1 win.
The Hawkeyes are in the same area of the Big Ten standings as Ohio State with a 19-8 overall record and a 9-7 conference mark. The Buckeyes are currently 17-10 overall and 9-7 in the Big Ten.
Head coach Jake Diebler said on Tuesday that he’s aware of the challenge that Iowa will be for Ohio State, especially at the Hawkeyes’ home Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
“It’s a team that really passes the ball well and plays well together,” Diebler said. ” (Bennett) Stirtz is a great player. They have other good pieces that seem to really be playing well to their roles. You can see the chemistry on the court that they’ve developed that’s helped them play at a high level on both sides of the ball.”
Since a two-game stretch against UCLA and Minnesota on Jan. 17 and Jan. 20 at home, Ohio State hasn’t been able to win two straight games. They also haven’t lost two straight games in the last month, however, and have been going back and forth between wins ans losses for 10 games.
The Buckeyes had a chance to end that streak at No. 15 Michigan State on Sunday with a lead in the second half before they faltered late, allowing the Spartans to win 66-60.
Senior guard Bruce Thornton didn’t have much help from his teammates against Michigan State when it came to scoring. The senior put up 32 points of the Buckeyes’ 60, and only senior center Christoph Tilly joined Thornton in double digits, scoring 10 points of his own.
Diebler believes that struggle won’t continue against Iowa.
“I think we’re due after last game. We were able to manufacture some really good looks against a good defense,” Diebler said. “We’ve got to continue to do that. Our execution is key for that and our movement is important.”
Against the Spartans, junior forward Devin Royal was out with an illness while sophomore guard John Mobley Jr. was still out with a finger injury and junior forward Brandon Noel was out with a foot injury that has kept him out for an extended period.
With those major contributors out of the lineup, the Buckeyes didn’t have as much rotation in the lineup and Diebler believes that might have led to some late-game fatigue.
“I thought there were times in the second half (against Michigan State) where we got fatigued, offensively. That happened to us in the Virginia game as well,” Diebler said. “Being shorthanded plays a role in that, so we’ve got to figure out how to combat that. Iowa’s pace of play is on the slower end, so that will be a little different than what we just faced.”
But the Buckeyes will have to deal with Stirtz, who is averaging 20.6 points per game this season in 27 contests along with 4.5 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals. Ohio State had a strong defensive performance against the Spartans and will need that to continue against the Hawkeyes on Wednesday night.
