Urban Meyer reacts to Ohio State's hoops win at Iowa - 247Sports

Starting to wonder if @ChrisHoltmann is getting used to this? ?? pic.twitter.com/4DyCFxHlDt
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) February 5, 2021

Ohio State erased a double-digit second half deficit to beat Iowa, 89-85, on the road on Thursday night, one of the Buckeyes' biggest wins of the season. Head coach Chris Holtmann was trolled a bit after the game after the team waited to appear in the locker room after he walked in.

The result? Pure jubilation after a victory the Buckeyes will use as a momentum-booster heading down the stretch. The victory caught the attention of national media and a special someone.

"Elite coach and Elite team! Go Bucks," former Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer tweeted after Thursday's win.

Buckeyes guard Justin Ahrens connected on three 3-pointers in the final 4.5 minutes of action, huge momentum-boosters for a team that stayed within striking distance throughout the second half thanks to a bevy of long-distance shots despite trailing by 11 at one point.

Duane Washington, a 90 percent free-throw shooter, made 1-of-2 from the charity stripe with 17 seconds left to prove the final tally.

Ohio State guard Justin Ahrens made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions in the second half and drained another with just over two minutes to play, his third trifecta pushing Ohio State's lead to seven points. The Buckeyes were red-hot from long range and the assault from the perimeter kept Ohio State within striking distance throughout — even when it trailed by 11 in the second half.

Notes following Thursday's victory via Bucknuts:

* Poll Rankings: Ohio State, seventh in Associated Press media poll, ninth in USA Today coaches poll; Iowa, eighth in Associated Press and USA Today coaches polls. OSU’s No. 7 AP poll ranking is the team’s highest of the season and the program’s highest since it spent one week at No. 2 last season in December.

* Computer Rankings: Ohio State, 12th in NCAA NET Rankings, 10th in KenPom.com, ninth in Sagarin Rankings; Iowa, seventh in NCAA NET Rankings, fourth in KenPom.com, fifth in Sagarin Rankings. OSU’s strength-of-schedule rankings are 26th in KenPom.com and 25th in Sagarin … and will only go up after this game.

* Next On The Docket: The Buckeyes visit Maryland on Monday. The game will tip at 9 p.m. and will be televised by Fox Sports 1. The Terrapins improved to 10-8 overall and 4-7 in Big Ten play with a home win over Purdue on Tuesday.

* Schedule Update: Ohio State’s home game against Indiana on Sat., Feb. 13, has been set for a noon start and will be televised by ESPN or ESPN2. The Sun., Feb. 21, home game with Michigan has been set for a 1 p.m. start and will be televised by CBS. OSU’s Sun., Feb. 28, home game with Iowa has been set for 4 p.m. as well on CBS.

Bucknuts analyst Steve Helwagen contributed to this story.

Let's block ads! (Why?)