INDIANAPOLIS — After just sneaking into the Big Ten Tournament as the 15-seed, Iowa (17-15, 8-13) snagged an opening round win, defeating tenth-seeded Ohio State (17-15, 9-12) on Wednesday.
Getting two wins in a row for the first time since early January and exorcising the demons of the last two Big Ten Tournaments, the Hawkeyes won thanks to a balanced team effort.
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
Thanks to the victory against the Buckeyes, Iowa has won back-to-back games for the first time since defeating Nebraska, 97-87 and Indiana, 85-60 in early January. A team that looked completely dead in the water at point in the season — including losing eight of ten games between January 14 and February 19 — the Hawkeyes haven’t quit.
“This is a tough group,” Fran McCaffery said after the win. “They’re smart, they’re connected, they want to keep playing. We’re going to keep playing. We’re competing for the NCAA Tournament.”
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Despite the difficult stretches, the Hawkeyes have stayed focused. Not only did that earn them a spot in the Big Ten Tournament, it earned them a victory when most fans counted the season over with before the matchup with the Buckeyes began.
“That’s what makes you proud, you know?” McCaffery said. “When they stay together, compete, win on the road and come down here and win. Watching them celebrate in the locker room — that’s what it’s all about.”
A common theme from Iowa’s win over Nebraska on Sunday, four Hawkeyes combined for 58 of Iowa’s 77 points, as Payton Sandfort led the way with 17 points, Josh Dix tallied 16, Brock Harding added 15 and Pryce Sandfort chipped in 10. Ladji Dembele led the way in rebounding with nine, and Seydou Traore was as impactful as he’s been all season long, finishing with four points, five rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
“Pryce in that one stretch, Ladji, Payton in the second half, Josh,” McCaffery said, giving credit to multiple players for the team’s victory. “You’ve got to have your offense come from a variety of different places when you get to this point in the season. That’s what we showed today.”
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None of those points scored were bigger than the triple Harding nailed with 16 seconds remaining, extending Iowa’s two-point lead to five and sealing the Hawkeye victory.
The three-pointer came after Harding gave away a critical turnover that resulted in an Ohio State mid-range jumper to get the game within two points. Still, Harding launched the shot, unphased by the previous mistake.
“I wasn’t surprised,” McCaffery said to the media. “Were you?”
As confident as his head coach, Harding said he knew he’d make up for the mistake if given an opportunity.
“I knew it was good,” Harding said of the shot. “After the turnover, I knew I would make up for it somehow. I’m just glad it went in.”
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Throughout a season where Harding began the year as a starter and was then moved to the bench, the Moline, Illinois native has stayed the course.
“A lot of guys — they get angry, they blame,” McCaffery said. “He just kept grinding.”
In the last two Big Ten Tournaments, Iowa lost in their first game of the tournament — both times to Ohio State. That streak ended Wednesday — but it wasn’t easy.
“[Ohio State] is a good team,” McCaffery said. “(Bruce) Thornton is as tough as they come. They’re going to keep coming. They’ve done that all year.”
Thornton led OSU in scoring with 24 points.
Unlike previous years, the Hawkeyes answered every single one of the Buckeyes’ punches.
“This group answered every run that they made,” McCaffery added. “Every challenge that they made, we made it back.”
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Harding said last season’s loss was on his mind going into the contest.
“We were on the bubble last year,” he said. “We thought ‘Hey, we win two Big Ten Tournament games, we’re in the NCAA Tournament.’ They knocked us out. … We’ve got to win games to get to the Tournament, and we might as well ruin their Tournament hopes if we can.”
“This means a lot, man. We get another day,” Payton added. “We won the Big Ten Tournament my freshman year, and then we’ve lost to those guys. It really hurt our seasons the last two years. It feels good to knock them out this time.”
The senior leader shouted out his former teammates that he played in 2023, when the Hawkeyes dropped their first of the two Big Ten Tournament losses \ against Ohio State.
“That one is for my seniors a couple years ago — Connor (McCaffery), Filip (Rebraca) and Kris (Murray),” Payton said. “We had a great team that year, we had a better seed and losing that game put a big dent in our season. … That win feels good. That one’s for them, and now we keep rolling.”
NEXT: Iowa will face seventh-seeded Illinois (20-11, 13-4) at 5:30 pm CT on Thursday evening in Indianapolis. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
