Ohio State tops Iowa State 78-75

Buckeyes are going to the Sweet Sixteen

3/25/2013
BLADE STAFF

DAYTON — Ohio State is heading to the Sweet 16.

Aaron Craft hit a 3-pointer with less than a second left to lead the second-seeded Buckeyes to a thrilling 78-75 victory over No. 10-seed Iowa State in a third-round NCAA tournament game at Dayton Arena.

OSU (28-7) blew a 13-point second-half lead and trailed 75-74 before Craft made one of two free throws to tie the game at 75 and hit the game-winner with 0.5 seconds remaining.

It was a fitting finish to a a weekend of chaos in a lawless region now trademarked as the Wild Wild West — No. 1 Gonzaga’s loss to Wichita State a night earlier left OSU as the only top-5 seed remaining. The Buckeyes, led by Deshaun Thomas’ 22 points and 18 from Craft, will play sixth-seeded Arizona on Thursday in Los Angeles.