Ohio State vs. Iowa basketball: 5 keys for a Buckeye victory

Ohio State travels to Iowa Thursday night to take on a ranked Iowa team. It won’t be easy, but here’s three keys to a victory.

Make life difficult on Luka Garza

Iowa has a player of the year candidate in big-man Luka Garza. Typically when he plays well and scores, the team does well. He’s a tough matchup because of his strength and length, but you have to make him work for his shots around the rim. He’s shooting a very efficient 55 percent from the field. On top of that, he can step out and nail the deep ball at a clip of 38.8 percent.

The latter is where I’d take my chances. It’s easier said than done, but if Kaleb Wesson, Kyle Young and company can push Garza out of the paint, you live with what happens. Let Garza shoot the three-ball as opposed to doing damage in and around the paint. It’ll keep guys out of foul trouble, and him out of the mix for offensive rebounds. He’ll probably still get his, but the defense has to rally, collapse and make him put up a higher volume of shots.

Next … Play through adversity