DAYTON, Ohio — Ohio State’s lead was down to 10 points at halftime, which was hardly insurmountable for Iona. Gaels guard Sean Armand believed, though, the second half’s first basket had to come from his team.
“Coming out of halftime, I knew we had to score first,” Armand said, “or the game would get out of hand.”
It got out of hand, and it got out of hand quickly and dramatically. The Buckeyes delivered the second half’s first nine points in just two minutes, capped by a sensational steal by Aaron Craft that led to a dunk and a 19-point Buckeyes’ lead.
Iona certainly put up a fight against second-seed Ohio State, but its NCAA Tournament opener was ultimately a mismatch. The Buckeyes’ sensational defense harnessed Iona’s high-scoring offense, built up a 30-point second-half lead and ended the Gaels’ season with a 95-70 West Region rout at University of Dayton Arena.
“We ran into a buzzsaw today,” Iona coach Tim Cluess said. “We knew, in order to even be in the game, we’d have to play our best game of the year and we didn’t.”
Syracuse is now the only New York team left standing, as Iona, LIU Brooklyn and Albany are all out of the Dance. The Gaels had entered the game exceedingly confident, with Momo Jones, their star senior guard declaring, “I feel like we can win the game.”
Nope. Not quite.
Iona entered averaging 80.7 points, second-best in the country. But the Buckeyes owned the nation’s 15th-ranked defense (57.9 points), and they obliterated Iona. The Gaels shot just 35 percent, including 6 for 28 from 3-point range. They also had 19 turnovers, while Ohio State racked up eight steals and seven blocks.
“Those guys, they looked like they work out every day,” Iona guard Tavon Sledge said.
This is the second straight year Iona’s season ended on the Dayton court. Last year, the Gaels lost in the First Four to BYU, blowing a 25-point lead. The Gaels are now 0-9 in NCAA Tournament history.
Winners of nine straight, Ohio State looked outstanding and were led by Craft, the magnificent point guard. The junior’s defense borders on otherworldly — he tallied six steals and helped hold Jones — who’s averaging 23 points — to just nine points on 3-for-14 shooting in his final college game.
“Give credit where credit is due. I think he played good defense,” Jones said. “I think I took some bad shots. Things just didn’t fall tonight.”
Craft’s finest play came in the first half when he knocked the ball from Jones and dove out of bounds to save it with a behind-the-back flip, leading to an Evan Ravenel dunk. Ohio State assistant coach Chris Jent calls Craft “a special defender,” and he’s right.
“I think he gets away with body blocking you, grabbing you, holding you, but he’s in very good position to do that and he plays great angles,” Cluess said. “I really told him after the game that he’s one heck of a defensive player.”
Powered by plenty of fan support in their home state, the Buckeyes dominated early, with Iona looking as if it didn’t belong on the same court or in the same bracket as its opponent. OSU led 27-8, but the Gaels embarked on a 25-10 run, trimming the lead to 37-33.
Ohio State, though, ended the half on a 6-0 spurt, then drilled Iona with that 9-0 run to start the second half.
Jones exited with 4:32 remaining, and Cluess had some words for him.
“He told me if it wasn’t for me, we wouldn’t be here,” Jones said. “And to keep my head high.”