CHICAGO — Bruce Thornton scored 17 points and Roddy Gayle Jr. scored all nine of his in the final six minutes to help the13th-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes pull off a 73-69 upset win over fifth-seeded Iowa in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday.
Brice Sensabaugh added 16 points, Justice Sueing 14 and Sean McNeil 13 for the Buckeyes (15-18), who will now face fourth-seeded Michigan State on Friday in the quarterfinals.
Filip Rebraca scored 20 points, Kris Murray 17 and Tony Perkins 16 for Iowa (19-13).
The two teams split their regular-season meetings with the winner scoring in the 90s. Iowa averaged 80.6 points per game during the regular season and Ohio State averaged 72.8, but both teams got off to a slow start offensively during the first half.
But despite the scoring troubles, the Buckeyes held a 29-28 lead at the break.
Gayle tied the game up on a jumper, then buried a 3-pointer for the game’s 18th and final lead change at 64-61 with about 3 1/2 minutes remaining.
The Buckeyes would come up with possession after a wild scramble for a loose ball that spanned the entire court and had several players spilling to the floor. But the ball rolled out of bounds and Ohio State took possession with 11.5 left and leading 71-69.
Ohio State inbounded the ball to Sueing and he nailed both free throws to seal the win.
While Ohio State finished 7 of 18 from the arc, Iowa was only 4 of 17 and was outscored 14-8 off turnovers that included 10 Buckeyes steals.
FG FT Reb
OHIO ST. Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS
Sensabaugh 27 8-14 0-0 1-4 2 3 16
Sueing 34 5-13 2-2 1-5 0 1 14
Okpara 23 1-3 0-0 3-5 0 4 2
Gayle 24 3-5 2-2 1-3 1 2 9
Thornton 34 8-13 0-0 0-1 6 3 17
McNeil 31 4-8 2-2 0-2 3 1 13
Likekele 17 0-2 1-2 1-4 5 1 1
Brown 11 0-1 1-2 0-2 0 1 1
Totals 200 29-59 8-10 7-26 17 16 73
Percentages: FG .492, FT .800. 3-Point Goals: 7-18, .389 (McNeil 3-6, Sueing 2-3, Gayle 1-1, Thornton 1-3, Brown 0-1, Okpara 0-1, Sensabaugh 0-3). Team Rebounds: 3. Team Turnovers: 3. Blocked Shots: 4 (Sueing 2, Okpara, Sensabaugh). Turnovers: 5 (Sensabaugh 2, Gayle, Likekele, Sueing). Steals: 10 (Likekele 3, Brown 2, Thornton 2, Gayle, Sensabaugh, Sueing). Technical Fouls: None.
FG FT Reb
IOWA Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS
Murray 38 7-17 1-1 1-6 5 1 17
Rebraca 36 7-12 6-6 2-7 2 2 20
Perkins 36 6-12 3-5 3-6 1 1 16
Ulis 17 0-1 1-2 1-2 0 2 1
C.McCaffery 30 0-2 0-0 0-1 1 3 0
P.McCaffery 22 4-8 0-0 1-3 0 0 9
Sandfort 15 1-3 2-2 1-3 1 3 4
Dix 6 1-1 0-0 0-1 1 0 2
Totals 200 26-56 13-16 9-29 11 12 69
Percentages: FG .464, FT .813. 3-Point Goals: 4-17, .235 (Murray 2-8, Perkins 1-3, P.McCaffery 1-4, C.McCaffery 0-2). Team Rebounds: 2. Team Turnovers: None. Blocked Shots: 5 (Murray 2, Perkins 2, Sandfort). Turnovers: 11 (Perkins 4, Rebraca 3, C.McCaffery 2, Dix, Murray). Steals: 3 (Perkins 2, Ulis). Technical Fouls: None.
Ohio St. 29 44 — 73
Iowa 28 41 — 69
A–15,537 (20,917).
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