Iowa vs. Ohio St.: Score, Highlights and Reaction from 2016 Regular Season

Keita Bates-Diop scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds, but it was the Ohio State Buckeyes forward's block on Mike Gesell with 1.2 seconds left that gave the Buckeyes (19-11, 11-6 Big Ten) a 68-64 win over the No. 8 Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday at Value City Arena in Columbus.

The ball from JaQuan Lyle's potential dagger three-pointer landed out of bounds with eight seconds remaining. Gesell took the inbounds pass the length of the court for what seemed to be an open layup to tie the game, but Bates-Diop used his outstretched right arm for his fourth block of the game.

CBS Sports provided the clip of the game-winning swat:

Buckeyes forward Marc Loving led all scorers with 25 points and made four threes, and Kam Williams also chipped in 11 points in the second half for Ohio State's fifth win in its last six games. The Buckeyes won this game without Jae'Sean Tate, who's out for the rest of the year with a torn shoulder labrum, per Bill Landis of Cleveland.com.

Iowa's leading scorer, Jarrod Uthoff, and Gesell both scored 16 points as the Hawkeyes (20-8, 11-5 Big Ten) lost for the fourth time in their last five games and are now locked in a three-way tie for second in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes are now two games back of the first-place Indiana Hoosiers, which sets up a big game on Tuesday, per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports:

Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde documented the disparity between these two teams as the regular season draws to a close:

Iowa missed all seven of its three-point attempts in the first half and shot less than 40 percent from the floor. One of Iowa's 11 makes in the first half came from Gesell with authority, via Iowa on the Big Ten Network:

Ohio State took a 35-30 lead over the Hawkeyes, but it wasn't because of its three-point shooting, either. The Buckeyes made only three of 10 attempts but made 10 of 14 shots from inside the three-point line.

Iowa's defense also contained the Buckeyes in the second half from distance as well. But when Ohio State needed a basket from three-point range, it came at an opportune time. Leading 63-62 with just over a minute to go and 15 seconds left on the shot clock, Lyle found a wide-open Williams in the corner for a three that gave the Buckeyes a four-point lead, via CBS Sports:

The Buckeyes struggled from long range, making only five of their 18 three-point attempts, but Ohio State shot just under 45 percent from the floor. Ohio State's defense stifled Iowa, which made only three threes and shot just under 41 percent, but the Hawkeyes out-rebounded the Buckeyes 35-33.

Iowa is slumping at the wrong time. With the loss, Indiana clinched a share of the Big Ten title for the second time in four years, per Gary Parrish of CBS Sports. Iowa still has a chance to get that other share, but it'll take some moving and shaking atop the Big Ten standings to get to that point.

Ohio State closes its regular season on the road in East Lansing against the No. 6 Michigan State Spartans. A win for the Buckeyes could potentially mean a top-five seed in the Big Ten Tournament, which could result in another NCAA tournament resume-making win.

Postgame Reaction

Ohio State head coach Thad Matta hopes the momentum taken from this game will carry over to the upcoming matchup against Michigan State, per Ohio State Athletics:

Williams was an X-factor for Ohio State, hitting all five of his shots in the second half and feeding off the Ohio State crowd, per OSU Athletics: 

Iowa guard Peter Jok, who scored 12 points for the Hawkeyes, thought the final play block from Bates-Diop came with some contact.

"We thought he got fouled," Jok said, per Chad Leistikow of the Des Moines Register. "A lot of people stopped, instead of going for the rebound.”

Uthoff didn't touch the ball on Iowa's last nine possessions, per Leistikow. When asked about it afterward, Uthoff said, “The ball ended up in other people’s hands."

Once ranked in the Top 5, Iowa could more than likely fall out of the Top 10 when the polls are released on Monday, and Uthoff is unsure of the direction the team is going right now, per Leistikow:

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