Hawkeyes look to stay among Big Ten leaders tonight

The 16th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes return to action tonight at home against Ohio State in the Big Ten. Iowa will be without leading scorer Luke Recker who is out with a broken kneecap. Iowa coach Steve Alford says Ryan Hogan will move into the starting line-up. Alford says Hogan is ready to start, but won’t be pressured to put up the same numbers as Recker. Alford says other players will have to step up their game to help make up for the loss of Recker. Alford believes his players are capable of filling the void.Ohio State center Ken Johnson is one of the nation’s top shot blockers.Alford says the Johnson matchup against Reggie Evans should be intriguing.Ohio State is coming off a 73-66 win at Minnesota, the Buckeyes first road win in conference action.Buckeye coach Jim O’Brien says Iowa’s Reggie Evans has the mentality that every rebound is his. He says that will make it a good matchup.