Three days after an 84-71 loss at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin, Iowa men’s basketball looks to bounce back with a victory over Ohio State, set to be played on a friendly floor at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 25.
With the loss to the Badgers, the Hawkeyes dropped to 19-8 overall, as well as 9-7 in Big Ten action, where Iowa is currently ranked eighth.
The Buckeyes are currently 17-10 overall, but hold an identical record in conference play. Ohio State, ranked behind Iowa at ninth in the conference, will also be itching for another Big Ten win after Sunday’s 66-60 loss to No. 13 Michigan State.
A key component of the Buckeye defense will likely be limiting senior guard and leading scorer Bennett Stirtz, averaging 20.6 points per game at a 50.9 percent field goal clip. The former stat, including a 23-point effort against Wisconsin, makes him good for No. 18 in the nation, per ESPN.
“I guard Bennett so much,” Iowa freshman Trey Thompson said. “You know what he’s going to do, but it doesn’t matter. He’s going to do it anyway. So he’ll drive past you, but I think you want to force the step back and make him contest the three over you, rather than an easy layup. But still, he’s going to get his shot, and he’s going to make it.”
Stirtz has proven crucial to the Hawkeye offense this season, whereas for Ohio State, the same can be said for senior guard Bruce Thornton, averaging just shy of Stirtz’s tally at 20.4 points per game. Thornton is also second only to Stirtz in the Big Ten for minutes.
“He can guard his position,” head coach Ben McCollum said. “He can obviously shoot. He’s comfortable in his own skin, which means he doesn’t just take random shots. He’s a good player [and] presents a lot of problems for everybody.”
The game is expected to be important on many levels, according to stats from the game notes, courtesy of HawkeyeSports. Not only is the series between the two teams tied up at 86-86, but their identical conference records mean that the outcome of this one will be crucial for seeding in the Big Ten Tournament.
In addition, McCollum is tied for second in program history for most wins by a first-year head coach. The former Drake coach’s 19 wins so far tie him with Bucky O’Connor in the 1951-52 season, albeit well behind the 30 wins amassed by Dr. Tom Davis in the 1986-87 campaign.
“Coach [McCollum] has been successful already in his first year in the Big Ten,” Thompson said. “It’s a big step up from Drake and Northwest Missouri State, but he’s still winning. Wherever he is, he’s going to win, he’s going to find a way to win. I think that’s huge, especially being in a league like this, where guys are always going to be good.”
The contest between Iowa and Ohio State is set to tip off at 8:00 p.m. CST, with coverage provided by the Big Ten Network and the Hawkeye Radio Network.