Fran McCaffrey
For the second straight year the Iowa Hawkeyes have ambushed Ohio State in Columbus. The Hawkeyes built a 12 point second half advantage then held off a late rally to edge the 20th ranked Buckeyes 71-65 in their Big Ten opener.
Iowa posted its second road victory against a rated foe. “All it is is an indication of what we are capable of becoming,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery says, “we wanted to raise the toughness bar, we did that. We wanted to share the ball, we wanted to win the battle on the glass, we did that. Every time we kind of had a little bit of a lull offensively, someone made a play, and I couldn’t be more prouder of our guys.”
The Hawkeyes outrebounded Ohio State 37-29 and had 17 assists. “We had to be strong in those areas and we were. It’s such a great feeling as a coach, as a player to know and understand that going into the game and then to actually carry it out a game plan under heavy duress on the road,” McCaffery says.
Aaron White and Jarod Uthoff each had 18 points for the Hawkeyes but Josh Ogelsby had the biggest basket of the game with three minutes to go after the Buckeyes had closed to within 63-60. Uthoff says they got a little tentaive at the end when the Buckeyes put more pressure on them, but he says he saw a seem and hit the jump shot.
Ogelsby says it was a great way to start the league race. “That was a big win for us and a stepping stone for us in the Big 10,” Ogelsby says. Ogelsby finished with eight points as the Hawkeyes improve to 10-4 overall.