Keegan Murray scored 24 and Iowa used a huge run in the second half of the game to defeat No. 18 Ohio State 75-62 Saturday.
Murray was the Hawkeyes’ leader (18-8, 8-7 Big Ten) and he made 10 of 17 shots.
Fran McCaffery, Iowa coach, said that the strategy wasn’t complicated. “We forced them to take difficult shots, and we rebounded. “Our rebounding numbers played a major part in our success.”
Iowa trailed Iowa by four points at 17:35. The Hawkeyes then went on a 17-4 run. With 2:40 left, the Buckeyes (9-5) and 16-7 Iowa pulled within six points, but the Hawkeyes managed to score the last seven points to win the game.
Murray scored 20 points during the first half. Murray didn’t score his first basket in the second half until 7:07 was left.
McCaffery stated, “I think what’s most impressive about him” McCaffery said, “He plays the game with tremendous confidence, which is really impactful for his teammates.”
Malaki Branham led Ohio State’s scoring with 22 points, while E.J. Liddell had 15. Only 2 of 11 teams were able to score from the 3-point line, including the Buckeyes.
Chris Holtmann, Ohio State coach, stated that “we just didn’t play enough force or physicality”
Keegan Murray’s older brother Kris Murray added 11 points, while Jordan Bohannon scored 10 for Iowa. The Hawkeyes made just eight of their 14 turnovers, while the other team had to force them to.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Keegan Murray led the Iowa offense during the first half. Kris Murray was the dominant player in the second.
Kris Murray, who shot 50% from the field during the second period, led Iowa with 11 points.
McCaffery stated that McCaffery was seeing a lot of resilience right now. I think you are seeing a man who is really building his confidence. It’s wonderful to see.
GETTING SECOND CHANCES
Iowa had at least 40 rebound in the third of six games. Iowa trailed 21-10 at halftime, but took a 39-38 lead at halftime thanks to six offensive rebound plays in the final 2 minutes.
The Hawkeyes held Ohio State down to three field goals in the final 13 minutes of the match. They grabbed 12 boards to six from the Buckeyes to keep the edge on the glass.
“It’s something that we talked about a lot. McCaffery stated that we always want to go downhill. “If we fail, we have to rebound on the weak side. And that’s what we did.”
BIG PICTURE
Iowa: The Hawkeyes seized 20 offensive rebounds from Ohio State and made use of them with 18 second-chance point. Iowa defeated Ohio State 41-31 to help it rebound from Thursday’s loss to Michigan.
Ohio State: This was the Buckeyes’ first home loss. After a strong start at home, they became the last Big Ten team to lose on home after a disappointing performance in 2014.
Holtmann stated, “We’ll survive to fight another day.” We have a very difficult stretch ahead of us. We hope to be able to coach and play better next time. This is our challenge.
NEXT
Iowa: Iowa hosts No. On Tuesday, 19 Michigan State.
Ohio State hosts Indiana on Monday
