SCOUTING OHIO STATE
• The Buckeyes finished the regular season with a 17-14 overall record and finished 10th in league play with a 9-11 mark.  Ohio State lost four of its final six games and went 4-6 in its final 10 games.
• Ohio State has four players averaging in double figures with Bruce Thornton leading the team in scoring (17.5), assists (4.5) and steals (1.1).  The guard has splits of .497/.426/.846 on the year and has the best assist-to-turnover ratio (3.23) in the Big Ten (seventh nationally).
• Devin Royal (13.6), Micah Parrish (13.2) and John Mobley, Jr. (13.2) also average in double digits.  Royal also leads the team in rebounding (6.9), while Mobley has a team-high 75 3s.
• The Buckeyes have the second-best 3-point field goal defense (.301), which ranks 14th nationally.  Opponents make an average of 6.5 3s per game.
• Ohio State averages 79.1 points per game, while surrendering 73.4.  The Buckeyes average 8.3 3-point field goals and shoot 46.7 percent as a team.

SERIES HISTORY

• Wednesday’s game is the 172nd meeting in the all-time series between Iowa and Ohio State, dating back to 1915. The Buckeyes lead 86-85.
• The Buckeyes have won two straight over Iowa, including an 82-65 win in Columbus on Jan. 27. It is the first time Ohio State has won consecutive games over the Hawkeyes since the 2017-18 season.  The two teams have split the last 20 meetings.
• Ohio State downed Iowa,90-78, in the 2024 Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis and 83-75 at the 2023 Big Ten Tournament in Chicago.
• Iowa is 2-5 all-time against the Buckeyes in the Big Ten Tournament, including a 67-60 win in the championship game in 2006.

FIRST MEETING: OHIO STATE 82, IOWA 65

Iowa trailed the Buckeyes, 30-26, at the break before
Ohio State erupted for 52 second-half points in an 82-65 victory on Jan. 27 in Columbus.
• The Buckeyes held Iowa to a season-low 65 points and a 39.3 field goal percentage in the game.
• Graduate Drew Thelwell recorded his second 20 point game of the season, making 8-of-10 field goals. He was one of four Hawkeyes in double figures.

LAST GAME: IOWA 83, NEBRASKA 68

The Hawkeyes closed out the regular season with an 83-68 road victory at Nebraska on March 9 in a play-in game for the 2025 Big Ten Tournament.
• Iowa shot 53.8 percent from the field and made 11 3-pointers in the game.  Four Hawkeyes reached double figures with Payton Sandfort leading the way with 22 points, while Pryce Sandfort recorded his first career double-double, finishing with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

IOWA IN THE BIG TEN TOURNAMENT

• Iowa has posted an 22-23 record in Big Ten Tournament games. The Hawkeyes earned tournament titles in 2001, 2006, and 2022 and lost in the title game in 2002. Only Michigan State (35), Ohio State (34), Illinois (34), Wisconsin (29) and Michigan (24) have more wins and a higher winning percentage. Michigan State has won six tournament titles, Ohio State and Illinois have won four, Iowa and Wisconsin have won three, while Michigan and Purdue have two tournament titles. (Ohio State was forced to vacate its 2002 title.)
• Iowa has played 11 different teams in the event, having met each team except Nebraska, Maryland, USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington at least once. Iowa (2001 as a No. 6 seed; 2022 as a No. 5 seed) and Michigan (2017 as a No. 8 seed; 2018 as a No. 5 seed) are the only teams to claim the tournament title by winning four games in four days.
• Iowa has been eliminated by the tournament champion six times, including Michigan in the 1998 quarterfinals and 2018 first round, Michigan State in the 2000 quarterfinals and 2012 quarterfinals, Ohio State in the 2002 title game, and Illinois in the 2021 semifinals.

IOWA BY SEED

This year marks the third time Iowa has been a No. 10 seed at the Big Ten Tournament (2009, 2011).  The 10 seed previously met up with the No. 7 seed in the opening round.
• The Hawkeyes are 0-2 as a No. 10 seed, falling to Michigan in 2009 and Michigan State in 2011.

CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE

Four current Hawkeyes were members of the 2022 team that won four games in four days as the No. 5 seed to win the 2022 Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.
• Payton Sandfort scored in double figures in two of the four games as a reserve, making six 3-point field goals.  Riley Mulvey (two games), Luc Laketa (one) and Carter Kingsbury were also members of the team.
• Drew Thelwell helped Morehead State win two OVC Tournament titles, winning in 2021 and 2024.

MORE NOTABLES

• Head coach Fran McCaffery has the most victories in Iowa history with 296, including a record 143 Big Ten wins.  McCaffery won his 200th career game in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 22 against Washington.
• McCaffery has 547 career victories, making him one of 24 active head coaches with 500 career victories.
• With his 22-point output at Nebraska, Payton Sandfort went over the 500 point mark for the season.  He is the first player since Luka Garza to have back-to-back 500-point seasons and the 12th player to have two such seasons in program history.
• The Hawkeyes limited Nebraska to 34.9 percent shooting — a season low by an opponent — on March 9.  The Huskers made just six 3-pointers in the loss.
• The Hawkeyes have played three games on neutral courts this season, posting a 2-1 record.  Iowa beat Washington State in Moline and Utah in Sioux Falls, while falling to Utah State in Kansas City.
• Iowa has shot better than 50 percent from the floor 12 times and better than 60 percent three times. The team is 10-2 when shooting at least 50 percent from the field.
• Iowa rallied from nine down in the second half to beat Washington on Feb. 22. It was the team’s sixth comeback victory of the season.
• The Hawkeyes have had multiple 20-point scorers in seven games this season.
• Redshirt junior Carter Kingsbury played a career-high 28 minutes in the win over Washington on Feb. 22.
• Senior Payton Sandfort has started 65 consecutive games dating back to the start of his junior season.
• Iowa is second in the Big Ten and 40th nationally, averaging 13.19 fast-break points.
• The Hawkeye reserves have outscored their counterparts in 17 games.  Iowa got 57 points from its reserves in the 112 point outburst against New Hampshire on Dec. 30.
• Iowa has held 21 opponents under 50 percent shooting (and four under 40 percent), has forced at least 18 turnovers in six games and has held seven opponents under 70 points.   The Hawkeyes are 98-3 when holding opponents to fewer than 61 points over the past 14+ seasons.
• The Hawkeyes have had 10 games decided by single digits (4-6 record) and four games decided by a single possession (2-2 record).
• The Hawkeyes had a 62-point first half in the win over New Hampshire.  Iowa has scored 50+ 11 times in a half this season.
• The Hawkeyes have had six players hit the 20-point mark in a game this season — Payton Sandfort (13), Josh Dix (6), Owen Freeman (4), Drew Thelwell (2), Pryce Sandfort (1) and Brock Harding (1).
• Harding has 168 assists to 72 turnovers in 31 games His 5.4 assists per game are fourth in the Big Ten and 37th nationally.  He has had five or more assists in 20 games and 8+ in six contests.
• Sandfort currently has an 89.5 career free throw percentage (263-of-294), which is the best mark in program history.  He made 18 straight free throws from Nov. 22-Dec. 21 and is fourth in the league with an 88.8 free throw percentage on the year.

PAYTON WATCH

Senior Payton Sandfort currently is 13th in program history with 1,572 career points, while ranking third in the record books with 261 career 3-point field goals.  He is one 3-point field goal shy of tying Jeff Horner for No. 2 in program history.
• Sandfort is the 12th player in program history — the first since Luka Garza — to have two 500-point seasons.

COURTESY IOWA ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS