COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Deshaun Thomas, who missed part of the second half with a cut above his eye, scored 16 points and No. 14 Ohio State built a big lead and then held on to beat Iowa 72-63 on Tuesday night. Thomas, the Big Ten’s leading scorer at 21 points per game, sat out about 3 minutes while an open cut over his right eye was bandaged. The Buckeyes (14-4, 4-2 Big Ten) led by 24 points with under 13 minutes left but watched as Iowa cut the lead to four with 1:30 remaining.

Aaron White, an Ohio native playing his first college game in his home state, had 13 points for Iowa (13-6, 2-4). Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith Jr. both had 12 points and Evan Ravenel added 11 for Ohio State.