What we learned after Ohio State basketball’s win over Iowa (2024)

Over the course of the first 20 minutes, the Big Ten’s best three-point shooter only attempted one shot and didn’t have any points. Jamison Battle came out in the second half with a singular mission — to score. He was aggressive looking for his shots, and it payed off, as he scored all of his 23 points after the intermission. The Minnesota native must have forgotten he was playing at home, but figured it out in time for the Buckeyes.

Over the course of the season, more specifically when Diebler took over, the freshmen have gotten more opportunities to show what they can do. All three of them contributed in a positive way with Scotty Middleton lesding the way with 11 points and one rebound. He made all four of his shots, three of them beyond the arc, while Devin Royal was almost perfect as well. Three-for-three from the field, he did miss one of his three free throws while grabbing five rebounds. Royal did have issues staying on the court with fouls and did have three turnovers, but overall a positive performance. Taison Chatman took three shots, making a three and had two assists and two steals. The freshmen helped the Buckeyes’ cause tonight.

Taking charges, going coast-to-coast creating his own fast-break, grabbing loose balls, Roddy Gayle Jr. was all over the court. The team fed off his energy, and it showed. Gayle scored very efficiently, with 10 points on seven shots from the field, while also having four rebounds, four assists and a block. This is exactly what the sophom*ore needs to do for this team, and he’s starting to embrace the role.

As a team, the Buckeyes made 11-of-20 from beyond the arc, blistering the Target Center nets. They didn’t need many of those shots, as the Hawkeyes didn’t shoot nearly as well, but they are a very good offensive team. It was a team effort, as six Ohio State players made one, led by Middleto’s three. All of this when Battle made half of his four attempts is a very positive sign for this team.

The leader of the Buckeyes almost had a triple-double, scoring 14-points, dishing out 9 assists while grabbing 6 rebounds. This is the kind of performance you expect from Thornton, and he delivered. He was efficient like Gayle, needing just nine shots all game. With just one turnover on the night, anytime your point guard has that kind of ratio, it's hard to lose.

If you would have told me that Ohio State would fire Chris Holtmann, beat Purdue the game after and reel off 6 of-its-last 7 games, five in-a-row, to get to 20 wins. I would have told you to have another adult beverage, but that is where this Buckeye team is at. OSU is playing it’s best basketball of the season, peaking at the right time. Not only did Ohio State inch closer to the tournament, it effectively spoiled Iowa's chance to make it. Regardless of which postseason tournament the Buckeyes play in, Diebler is going to be a wanted man in the near future, even if it might be away from Columbus. What a job done by the interim head coach and the players for not folding and making a run at the Big Dance.

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X.