COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State basketball will continue its Big Ten Tournament run with a matchup against Iowa in the second round.
While the Hawkeyes had a first-round bye, the Buckeyes knocked off Wisconsin, 65-57.
What: No. 13 Ohio State (14-18, 5-15 Big Ten) vs. No. 5 Iowa (17-13, 9-11).
The point spread: Iowa minus-2; over-under 157.5.
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois.
When: Thursday, 2:30 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network.
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Ohio State projected starters
Bruce Thornton, guard, 10.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.4 apg.
Roddy Gayle Jr., guard, 3.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 0.8 apg.
Justice Sueing, guard, 12.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.9 apg.
Brice Sensabaugh, forward, 16.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.2 apg.
Felix Okpara, center, 3.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 0.3 apg.
Iowa projected starters
Connor McCaffery, guard, 6.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.8 apg.
Ahron Ulis, guard, 6.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 2.2 apg.
Tony Perkins, guard, 12.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.9 apg.
Kris Murray, forward, 20.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.9 apg.
Filip Rebraca, forward, 13.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.1 apg.
What to Watch For
The Buckeyes have tapped into something at the end of this season that may make them a candidate to randomly make a run in the Big Ten Tournament given that they’ve won three of their last four games while relying on the youth. A lot of that is thanks to the emergence of Bruce Thornton as a scoring threat as he’s reached double figures in six of the last eight games.
The question is whether he can keep that up while continuing to prolong the end of OSU’s season.
Prediction
Stephen’s pick: These two split in the regular season. Both won at home by double figures in a way that makes a neutral-site game intriguing. I’m going to pick the Buckeyes again. Mainly because it looks like the freshman are starting to slowly figure it out while having nothing to lose. 70-64 Ohio State.
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