Slumping Ohio State looks to end losing skid against high-scoring Iowa today; Game at 2 PM

Ohio State vs. Iowa
Date: 
January 21, 2023
Time: 
2 p.m.
Venue: 
Value City Arena – Columbus, Ohio
Watch: FOX
Listen: Ohio State Radio Network from Learfield

Game Notes: Ohio State | Iowa
Rosters:
 Ohio State | Iowa
Season Stats: Ohio State | Iowa

TICKETS: Season, single-game, group and mini plans are available men’s basketball games this season. Visit OhioStateBuckeyes.com or call the Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office in the Schottenstein Center at 1-800-GOBUCKS.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State will host Iowa on Saturday afternoon in its lone home game in the middle of a stretch of five games. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at Value City Arena inside the Schottenstein Center and it will be televised nationally on FOX. Gus Johnson and Ohio State Hall of Famer Jim Jackson will call the action.

  • This will be the third consecutive meeting between the teams in Columbus. The Buckeyes will make the trip to Iowa City later this season on Feb. 16.
  • Iowa holds a slim lead in the overall series 83-82. The overall point margin is also close as the Buckeyes have outscored Iowa by just 13 points in the 165 meetings.
  • Last year, the team’s met just once and the game was originally scheduled to be played on Feb. 3. But travel cancellations for Iowa forced the game to be postponed to Feb. 19. Keegan Murray scored 24 points to out-dual Malaki Branham, who finished with 22 points, as Iowa pulled away late for a 75-63 victory.
  • The Buckeyes seem to have lost their mojo and are in need of a spark. A win Saturday may just do it. Ohio State is averaging 66 points per game over the current five-game losing skid. But prior to the skid, they were the most efficient offense in the country, averaging 81 points per game. So, just like the charming British spy, the mojo is there, they just need to find it again.
  • During the current skid, all five loses have come by single digits. That’s the first such streak of its kind in program history. They have lost the last five games by a combined 19 points.
  • The Buckeye offense is still second in the Big Ten in both field goal percentage (46.7) and three-point field goal percentage (38.2). Conversely, they lead the league, and are in the Top 25 nationally, in three-point field goal percentage defense, holding opponents under 30 percent from beyond the arc (29.1).
  • Iowa comes into the game at 12-6 on the season and 4-3 in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes midweek game with Northwestern was cancelled due to COVID within the Northwestern program. Iowa has won its last four games after losing its first three Big Ten contests.
  • Brice Sensabaugh has recorded a double-double in each of the last three games. He is the first Buckeye freshman to record three consecutive double-doubles since Jared Sullinger did it in the 2011 Big Ten Tournament. He is leading the team in scoring at 17.0 ppg and has been the team’s leading scorer in each of the last nine games.
  • Sensabaugh and Zed Key (11p, 10a) each had a double-double vs. Nebraska last time out. That was the first time a pair of Buckeyes had a double-double in the same game since the end of the 2020-21 season. Sensabaugh has three double-doubles on the year while Key has a team-high six double-doubles.

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