No. 15 Ohio State 72, Iowa 63: Deshaun Thomas scored 16 points as the host Buckeyes surged to a big lead and held on to defeat the Hawkeyes.

Thomas, the Big Ten's leading scorer, also had a team-high seven rebounds and overcame a cut above his right eye which forced him to the bench for about three minutes in the second half as Ohio State (14-4, 4-2 Big Ten) defeated Iowa for the eighth straight time. Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith, Jr. chipped in 12 points apiece for the Buckeyes.

Aaron White led the Hawkeyes (13-6, 2-4) with 13 points. Melsahn Basabe contributed seven points and a game-high 10 boards off the bench.

The Buckeyes closed the first half on a 13-4 run and scored the first four points of the second half to take a 38-22 lead. They continued to pour it on, answering a White three-point play with a burst that pushed the advantage up to 53-29 with 12:48 to go.

The Hawkeyes, who knocked Wisconsin from the ranks of the Big Ten unbeatens Saturday, staged a furious rally and pulled to within 63-58 on a White jumper with 2:34 left. It was still a five-point game inside of a minute when Thomas made a big steal and was fouled, making both free throws to create a safe margin.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Iowa shot 25 percent (8-for-32) in the first half, compared to 53.6 percent (15-for-28) for Ohio State. ... Thomas had his streak of consecutive 20-point games snapped at five. ... The Hawkeyes shot a season-low 50 percent (13-for-26) from the line.