Ohio State not shying from revenge factor in postseason 'payback' chance against Iowa
The play was one Ohio State had practiced dozens, if not hundreds, of times before.
This time, the Buckeyes just didn’t execute it. It was supposed to be a simple handoff from Felix Okpara to Roddy Gayle, giving the sophomore guard the ball going to his left in the final 30 seconds of a tie game at Iowa. Instead, Okpara double dribbled, the timing off by just a second or so, and the opportunity for an elusive road win had passed.
The Buckeyes remember that play. They remember how it went down. Now as No. 10 seed Ohio State prepares for a Big Ten Tournament second-round rematch against No. 7 seed Iowa in a game with everything on the line for both teams, interim coach Jake Diebler said Ohio State isn’t shying away from the opportunities at hand.
“Maybe not so much that specific moment, but the idea that we had the ball in our hands with a chance to win it in their gym is something we’ll absolutely reflect on,” he said Monday. “There’s a confidence factor knowing we were in their gym with a chance to win the game. We’ve talked openly about this: they beat us game one. An element of this game is this is a payback game.
“There’s certainly other big things at stake in all of that, but we haven’t shied away from talking about the different storylines of these games.”
When both teams tipped off Feb. 2 in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes were 12-9 overall and 4-6 in the Big Ten while positioned firmly outside of any realistic NCAA Tournament talk. Ohio State was in a tailspin, having three straight and six of seven to fall to 13-8 and 3-7, respectively.
Unlike in road losses to Nebraska and Northwestern during the prior two weeks, the Buckeyes were competitive in this one. Close wasn’t good enough, and the loss was another log on the fire that was a 2-9 stretch that cost coach Chris Holtmann his job.
Since that meeting, Iowa is 5-4 with a home win against Wisconsin and road wins against Michigan State and Northwestern. All three are almost certainly NCAA Tournament teams, and the run helped get the Hawkeyes into the March Madness picture until Sunday’s 73-61 home loss to Illinois knocked them to the wrong side of the bubble.
Ohio State, with Diebler as interim coach, is 5-1 and trying to force its way into the NCAA Tournament conversation.
“It’s very exciting because I’ve never played in the tourney,” sophomore guard Roddy Gayle said after Sunday’s win at Rugers. “Obviously that’s a goal, to compete for a national championship. I feel like we worked really hard to be able to put ourselves in that position. And, you know, it’s March, so win or go home. We’ve really got nothing to lose.”
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A loss would end any Ohio State hopes of getting into the Big Dance. The loss at Iowa was the only meeting between the two teams this season, and it was Ohio State’s most prolific adjusted offensive efficiency rating in a losing effort this season. Ohio State averaged 119.0 points per 100 possessions, its seventh-best total of the year and second-best against a Big Ten foe, but couldn’t get enough stops in the 79-77 loss.
The Hawkeyes closed the regular season with the Big Ten’s No. 3 offense and worst defense, scoring 79.1 points per game and allowing 80.5 in 20 league games. Since Feb. 2, Iowa has rated as the No. 44 team in the nation according to BartTorvik.com with the nation’s No. 13 adjusted offensive rating and No. 175 adjusted defensive rating.
During that same timeframe, Ohio State is No. 33 nationally, No. 61 offensively and No. 33 defensively.
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“We played them tough at their place, but we’re at a different place (in our journey),” Diebler said. “They’re probably in a little bit of a different place. We’ll lean on last game to pick some things up and evaluate things, but I think both these teams right now have a little bit of momentum so it should make for a fun one on Thursday.”
An important one, too.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State embracing 'payback' shot against Iowa in Big Ten Tournament
