Bruce Thornton scored 17 of his 24 points after halftime and Christoph Tilly added 16 points to help Ohio State edge Iowa 72-69 in the third round of the Big Ten tournament on Thursday in Chicago.
The eighth-seeded Buckeyes advanced to face No. 1 seed Michigan in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Ohio State withstood a series of late charges from Iowa after leading by 16 in the second half.
A 10-1 Hawkeyes run trimmed the deficit to six with 7:29 left before the Buckeyes regained momentum with five straight points. Ninth-seeded Iowa regrouped, as a 7-0 run brought the Hawkeyes within 70-69 with 38 seconds to go.
John Mobley Jr. swished two free throws with 8.8 seconds left for the final margin. Iowa's Brendan Hausen missed a potential tying 3-pointer with four seconds to go. Isaia Howard got another chance for the Hawkeyes at the buzzer after Ohio State missed the front end of a one-and-one, but the shot was off the mark.
Bennett Stirtz paced Iowa with 17 points while Cam Manyawu and Tavion Banks had nine each.
{{/usCountry}}Bennett Stirtz paced Iowa with 17 points while Cam Manyawu and Tavion Banks had nine each.
{{/usCountry}}Amare Bynum added 11 points for the Buckeyes. Thornton matched Iowa's Alvaro Folgueiras with a game-best six rebounds.
Iowa shot 50% compared to 55.3% for Ohio State. Manyawu's layup off a Buckeyes turnover brought the Hawkeyes within two points with 18:43 remaining, but Iowa didn't register another field goal until Tate Sage hit a trey 5:20 later.
Ohio State seized control with a 17-3 run in between. Thornton sizzled during that stretch, contributing 12 points that featured a personal streak of 10 straight over 1:58.
Ohio State overcame a sluggish start from the floor to take a 34-30 lead into halftime. The Buckeyes began 1-for-7, including 0-for-3 from long range, before closing the half on an 11-for-14 tear.
Tilly scored 12 points before the break while Bynum chipped in eight, helping the Buckeyes to a 36-20 overall advantage in points in the paint.
Stirtz had nine first-half points for the Hawkeyes.
Michigan , the third-ranked team in the poll, swept the regular- season series with Ohio State. The Wolverines prevailed by 12 points at home on Jan. 23 before rolling to an 82-61 road victory on Feb. 8.
Field Level Media
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