MINNEAPOLIS – The Iowa Hawkeyes enter the 2024 Big Ten Tournament as the No. 7 seed where they will face 10th-seeded Ohio State on Thursday in Minneapolis. It is the second straight year Iowa has faced the Buckeyes in the tournament’s second round. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network and tipoff is at 5:30 PM.
The winner of the game would advanced to face second-seeded Illinois on Friday at 5:30 p.m. in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
Iowa has posted an 22-22 record in Big Ten Tournament games. The Hawkeyes earned tournament titles in 2001, 2006, and 2022 and lost in the title game in 2002.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE
• The Buckeyes have won five of their last six games to close out the regular season under interim head coach Jake Diebler. Ohio State is 19-12 overall and finished 9-11 in Big Ten play.
• Ohio State went 6-2 down the stretch.
• The Buckeyes downed top-ranked Purdue, 73-69, in Diebler’s first game as head coach and the Buckeyes won their final four games, including back-to-back blowout wins over Michigan (84-61) and at Rutgers (73-51).
• Guard Bruce Thornton leads the Buckeyes in scoring (16.1 points), assists (4.3) and steals (1.2). Jamison Battle averages 14.4 points and he leads the Big Ten and ranks sixth nationally with a 44.0 3-point field goal percentage, making 2.7 per game. Roddy Gayle, Jr., adds 13.8 points.
• Center Felix Okpara is second in the Big Ten and 17th nationally with 69 blocks.
SERIES HISTORY
• Friday’s game is the 170th meeting in the all-time series between Iowa and Ohio State. Iowa currently leads the series, 85-84.
• The Hawkeyes have won four of the last six and six of the last 10 meetings in the series dating back to 2019.
• The Buckeyes handed Iowa an 83-75 loss at the 2023 Big Ten Tournament in Chicago.
• Iowa is 2-4 all-time against the Buckeyes in the Big Ten Tournament, including a 67-60 win in the championship game in 2006.
FIRST MEETING | IOWA 79, OHIO STATE 77
In a game that featured 15 ties and 10 lead changes, the Hawkeyes posted a 79-77 victory over Ohio State on Feb.2 in Iowa City. Iowa shot 54.7 percent from the floor and attempted a season-low 10 3-pointers. Senior Tony Perkins finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists