Ohio State Buckeyes guard Bruce Thornton (2) reacts to a shot and a foul call during the second half of an NCAA men’s basketball game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Value City Arena on January 27, 2025. Ohio State won 82-65. Recently, Iowa State turned to Bennett Stirtz to help find the magic of March.
Stirtz scored 17 points with eight assists and six rebounds for the Hawkeyes on Wednesday, including 13 in the second half, to send Iowa (21-11) into a third-round Big Ten Tournament matchup with eighth-seeded Ohio State (20-11) on Thursday in Chicago.
Stirtz, the Big Ten’s third-leading regular season scorer (20.2 points per game), caught fire against Maryland after freshman Cooper Koch ignited the Hawkeyes’ outside shooting. Koch has made at least five 3-pointers in three of his last four games.
Stirtz scored 22 points in Iowa’s 74-57 win over Ohio State three weeks ago, but Iowa finished below the Buckeyes in the conference standings. The Hawkeyes are the No. 9 seed and have a 10-10 record in the Big Ten entering the tournament. Ohio State was 12-8.
“It’s going to be a battle. They’re playing for the postseason and so are we,” Iowa coach Ben McCollum said Wednesday afternoon.
McCollum and Stirtz earned their first Big Ten tournament wins on Wednesday. But the March mission is nothing new for the tandem, who arrived from Drake on the heels of a 31-win season. Before that, they were together in northwest Missouri, where there were a lot of banners. They won back-to-back Division II national titles before transferring to Drake.
Ohio State coach Jake Dibler believes the Buckeyes are making progress at the right time.
“There’s a lot happening lately that’s helping us play,” Dibler said. “A lot of it is getting healthy. That’s helped. Also, probably the most important factor is the chemistry this team has. They help each other out. It’s a really close group.
“We are reaching a peak at the right time.”
The loss to Iowa in February appeared to be a wake-up call for Ohio State. The Buckeyes went 3-0 after that game with then-0 on the board. 8 Purdue.
The Hawkeyes, who have missed the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons, are taking nothing for granted after the win. Iowa closed out Ohio State’s season with a 77-70 win in last season’s conference tournament, albeit with a vastly different roster and coach.
This marks the fourth consecutive year the two teams have been paired in the Big Ten Tournament. Ohio State won in 2023 and 2024.
Three-time All-Big Ten pick Bruce Thornton became the Buckeyes’ all-time leading scorer on Senior Night.
“He and I have talked a lot about this season,” Deebler said of Thornton, who is eager for the March stage. “He’s tried to have a lot of fun this season. He’s embraced the moment. He hasn’t thought about himself. And a lot of people will do that. I hope you guys can follow him and see what he’s doing, because he’s earned this.
“I want this for him. I wanted this for him in the worst way.”
Thornton leads Ohio State with 20.1 points per game to go along with averaging 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game this season. John Mobley Jr. averages 15.9 points and leads the Big Ten in threes (42.9).
–Field level media
