The Iowa Hawkeyes needed this game. After a pair of recent close losses versus Maryland and at Indiana, Iowa had another chance to close out a tight Big Ten contest.
This time, Iowa took care of the basketball and its business late versus Ohio State. The Hawkeyes forced a key Ohio State turnover with :23 remaining and Iowa in front 74-73. Redshirt senior forward Patrick McCaffery prepared to make a pair of free throws on the other end to put the Hawkeyes on top by three with :21 left to play.
From there, save for one miss by junior forward Payton Sandfort, Iowa was clutch at the foul line down the stretch as it played the foul-up-three game.
Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton was fouled and made a pair of free throws for the Buckeyes. McCaffery responded by calmly sinking another pair of free throws to put Iowa back in front by three with :11 remaining.
After Ohio State’s Dale Bonner split his two free throws with :08 left to play in regulation, Sandfort had a chance to essentially ice the contest. But, he missed his first attempt before draining the second.
Iowa’s Sandfort fouled Bonner again with :04 left to play. He made the first and then intentionally missed the second. That set off a mad scramble for the loose basketball on the floor.
Though it led to some spiking heart rates across Iowa for those brief seconds, the final horn sounded without an Ohio State shot attempt at either the tie or the win. Iowa topped Ohio State in a thriller, 79-77.
With the win, Iowa improved to 13-9 (5-6 Big Ten). Senior guard Tony Perkins led the way with 20 points. He was joined by Sandfort and sophomore guard Josh Dix’s 15 points. McCaffery was Iowa’s other double-figure scorer with 10.
Social media let out a nice sigh of relief as the Hawkeyes picked up a vital win for their NCAA Tournament at-large bid hopes.