Ohio State redshirt senior guard Keyshawn Woods and freshmen forwards Justin Ahrens and Jaedon LeDee walk towards the bench during the Buckeyes’ game against Wisconsin at the Schottenstein Center on March 10. Credit: Sal Marandino | For The Lantern
Ohio State likely had to win a game in the Big Ten tournament to make it into the Big Dance.
The Buckeyes did exactly that, defeating Indiana and losing to Michigan State, enough to gain an 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
For many, making the tournament was enough, but for Ohio State, it found a way to win a game, defeating Iowa State 62-59 to advance to the Round of 32.
The Buckeyes held the Cyclones to 43.4 percent shooting for the game, while shooting 39.7 percent from the field.
Iowa State shot 47.7 percent from the field heading into the game, No. 1 in the Big 12.
The difference came on the glass, where Ohio State outrebounded the Cyclones 38-31, including a 12-6 advantage on offensive rebounds.
But Iowa State relied on redshirt senior guard Marial Shayok down the stretch, leading all scorers with 23 points while adding five rebounds and one assist.
The Cyclones found their momentum on offense in the second half, hitting on 15-of-26 attempts, but Ohio State outscored Iowa State 36-35.
On the other end, Ohio State went to its’ leading scorer, sophomore forward Kaleb Wesson, for much of its offense.
Wesson finished the game with a team-leading 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Buckeyes, shooting 8-of-15 from the floor.
Also stepping up for the Buckeyes was redshirt senior guard Keyshawn Woods, who put in 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting.
Woods led the team with 17.0 points per game during the Big Ten tournament.
Ohio State took a 26-24 lead into halftime, despite shooting 35.7 percent from the field and making 2-of-11 from 3.
The Buckeyes held Iowa State to 29.6 percent shooting in the opening half, with Shayok scoring 13 of the Cyclones’ 24 points.
Shayok shot 4-of-8 in the half, the rest of the team shot 4-of-19.
Iowa State did not make a field goal for 9:43 in the first half, allowing Ohio State to gain a 26-20 lead before Shayok hit a 3 with 1:29 to go in the half.
Behind four points from sophomore forward Kaleb Wesson and sophomore guard Musa Jallow, Ohio State opened up to an 11-2 lead to start the game, but the Cyclones followed it with a 15-2 run of their own to take a 17-13 lead.
Ohio State is 19-0 this season when leading with five minutes left. In his Ohio State career, head coach Chris Holtmann is 40-2 in those games.
Ohio State will play No. 3 Houston in the Round of 32.
