TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Ohio State went from barely making the NCAA Tournament to a spot in the second round with a 62-59 upset of sixth-seeded Iowa State in the Midwest Region on Friday night.
Kaleb Wesson had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead the 11th-seeded Buckeyes (20-14).
Keyshawn Woods added 19 points for Ohio State, which will play No. 3 seed Houston on Sunday for a spot in the round of 16. Musa Jallow added 11 points for Ohio State.
Iowa State (23-12) led just once in the second half but had a chance to send the game into overtime when Nick Weiler-Babb had an open attempt at a game-tying 3. His shot missed and ended the season for the Cyclones, who won the Big 12 Tournament to earn a spot in the NCAAs.
Marial Shayok scored 23 points and Lindell Wigginton added 14 for Iowa State.
Ohio State led 26-24 at halftime and started to gain momentum in the early minutes of the second half. Woods threw up a lob to Jallow for a dunk that put the Buckeyes up 38-32 with 14 minutes to play.
Iowa State caught a much-needed break when Wigginton was fouled on a 3-pointer. He made the free throw to cut Ohio State’s lead to 44-42. Shayok’s mid-range jumper finally put Iowa State up 54-53, but Ohio State answered quickly. Woods’ corner three put the Buckeyes up 58-54.
Wesson missed a free throw with Ohio State up three and 10 seconds remaining to set up the final sequence.
BIG PICTURE
Ohio State: The Buckeyes slowed the game down and turned it into a Big Ten-style bruise fest. The officials were lenient, which played into the hands of Ohio State’s 6-foot-9, 270-pound Wesson.
Iowa State: The Cyclones fell back into some of their inconsistency — they entered the tournament having won just three of their previous six games.
