Iowa needed a miracle this weekend. It got two, but that wasn’t quite enough for the Hawkeyes to pull off their second straight Big Ten tournament title.
Guard Luke Recker hit last-second, game-winning shots in the Hawkeyes’ victories over Wisconsin on Friday and Indiana on Saturday. But Ohio State then knocked Iowa back to reality in the title game Sunday.
Boban Savovic scored 27 points to lead the No. 2 seed Buckeyes (23-7) to an 81-64 victory Sunday, giving Ohio State its first Big Ten tournament title and a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Savovic, who scored 15 points in the second half and was named tournament MVP, said he was motivated by his brother Predrag’s 28-point performance for Hawaii in the Western Athletic Conference tournament final.
“I was just hoping we were going to win because I knew he was going to tease me about it,” Ohio State’s Savovic said. “Now we got a No. 4 seed, and he got a No. 10, so I can’t wait to talk to him.”
Iowa (19-15) was the tournament’s No. 9 seed but won three consecutive games against higher-seeded opponents to reach the final. Recker knocked down a fallaway 15-foot jumper with 1.4 seconds left to beat the Badgers (18-12) 58-56. Wisconsin, regular-season co-Big Ten champions, were given a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Saturday, Recker hit a running jumper at the buzzer to beat Indiana (20-11) 62-60 in a controversial ending. Replays showed that the game clock malfunctioned, freezing for about three-tenths of a second when Recker caught a pass with 2.2 seconds left. Recker drove around Indiana’s Jared Jeffries and released the game-winner with .1 showing on the clock.
Officials said the result would stand.
Recker was bothered by Indiana fans throughout the game and said he received threatening emails. A former high school Mr. Basketball in Indiana, the senior attended Indiana for two years before transfering to Arizona and then to Iowa.
Behind Recker, the Hawkeyes won the 2001 Big Ten tournament as the No. 6 seed, winning four games in four days to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
This year the Hawkeyes nearly pulled off another whirlwind run. But their loss in the final meant they will have to settle for the NIT, along with Minnesota (17-12).
“We played well in the tournament, but we didn’t play this well during the season,” Recker said. “That’s why we’re in this position.”
The Buckeyes and Hawkeyes dominated the all-tournament team. The Ohio State guard trio of Savovic, Brent Darby and Brian Brown joined Iowa’s Recker and Reggie Evans on the team.
Ohio State beat No. 3 seed Illinois 94-88 in the semifinal Saturday. The Fighting Illini were also given a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Other Big Ten teams in the Big Dance will be Wisconsin, a No. 8 seed, and Michigan State (19-11), a No. 9 seed. The Spartans lost to Indiana in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten tournament on Friday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
