After an emotionally straining month with enough last-second wins and losses to fill a season plus controversy surrounding play-by-play announcer Gary Dolphin, heading to Columbus to face the likely NCAA Tournament-bound Buckeyes was too much for the Iowa basketball team.
The Hawks started off strong in the first few minutes of the game, but the rest of the game was consistently frustrating as the Fran McCaffery’s squad battled through questionable officiating, hot shooting by Ohio State, and a self-inflicted lackluster effort on the defensive side of the ball.
For example, Ohio State’s Justin Ahrens had a game-high 29 points despite never reaching double digits in his collegiate career before Tuesday night.