MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jamison Battle scored all 23 of his points in the second half and Ohio State never trailed in beating Iowa 90-78 in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday.
The 10th-seeded Buckeyes (20-12) will play second-seeded and No. 13-ranked Illinois in the quarterfinals on Friday (6:30 p.m./BTN/FOX Sports app).
Illinois won the regular-season matchup 87-75 on Jan. 30. That was before Jake Diebler took over as interim head coach. Under Diebler, the Buckeyes have won six of seven games, including the last five.
Bruce Thornton added 14 points and nine assists for the Buckeyes.
Scotty Middleton scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half when Ohio State led 43-38.
Roddy Gayle Jr. scored 10 points. Battle had nine rebounds.
The Buckeyes shot 52% and made 11 of 20 3-point tries.
Payton Sandfort led the seventh-seeded Hawkeyes with 19 points.