Iowa's Big Ten Tournament run came to an abrupt end at the hands of Ohio State.
The Hawkeyes had another slow start on offense, and the defense couldn't slow down Bruce Thornton (24 points, 6 rebounds) or Christoph Tilly (16 points), failing to advance after a 72-69 loss.
Iowa fell behind early, going down by as many as 16 points in the second half, but fought back and had two chances to tie the game in the final seconds that ultimately fell short.
Ben McCollum had won 31 straight games in conference tournament games heading into the matchup with the Buckeyes, but that streak is now over.
Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes this season, losing close games after falling behind early has become a trend, and it is beyond frustrating.
Iowa has now lost five games when erasing 10-plus point deficits
Sometimes there are things in basketball that make you go, "make it make sense," and Iowa's slow starts, coupled with overcoming large deficits just to lose, are baffling.
All too familiar story for Iowa. The 5th time in B1G play they’ve fallen behind by 10+ before making a charge that came too late:
— Chris Hassel (@Hassel_Chris) March 12, 2026
Trailed Minn by 14, lost by 3
Trailed ILL by 18, lost by 5
Trailed Mich by 10, lost by 3
Trailed Neb by 11, lost in OT
Trailed OSU by 16, lost by 3
According to CBS Sports' Chris Hassel, the Hawkeyes have fallen behind by 10 or more points five times this season, made dramatic comebacks, but haven't won any of those games.
Excluding the 11-point loss to Nebraska in overtime at the end of the regular season, all five losses have been by five points or less.
Regardless of how you look at it, Iowa's inability to start games quickly and overcome deficits to win games is extremely frustrating, and now they are at the mercy of the Selection Sunday committee to decide their NCAA Tournament fate.