Jamie Sabau
After a narrow loss at Michigan State, Ohio State protected their home court on Tuesday to stay in the thick of the Big Ten race.
Behind a strong defensive effort, the No. 14 Ohio State Buckeyes held off a tough challenge at home from the Iowa Hawkeyes, 72-63, on Tuesday.
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The Buckeyes, who were projected to be a Top 10 team before the season started, avoided falling to .500 in conference play after a narrow 70-67 defeat at Michigan State on Saturday.
Ohio State held the Hawkeyes to only 35% shooting from the floor, with only one Iowa player (sophomore forward Aaron White) finishing in double digits.
On offense, the Buckeyes were led by leading scorer and All-American candidate DeShaun Thomas, who finished with 16 points and 7 rebounds on 6-for-11 shooting.
Thad Matta's team had three other players -- Aaron Craft, Lenzelle Smith Jr. and Evan Ravenel -- score at least 11 points, but the story of the game was the Buckeyes defense, which gave them the cushion to hold off a late Iowa charge.
For the Hawkeyes, it's another missed opportunity to get a quality win, as they fall to 2-4 in conference, including two narrow home losses to Indiana and Michigan State.
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