The Associated Press

COLUMBUS - Iowa coach Steve Alford could not have been happier that his team had gotten off to a dreadful start and still salvaged a 71-64 win over Ohio State on Tuesday night. His Ohio State counterpart, Jim O'Brien, was left shaking his head.

"In all the years I've been coaching college basketball, I don't know if I've ever been as disappointed in a performance as I was in this performance in the second half," O'Brien said after his team blew a 10-point halftime lead.

"It had nothing to do with winning and losing. It has everything to do with our disinterest in what was going on," O'Brien continued. "I don't think we played with any heart, with any character, with any cohesion and with no leadership. For the life of me, I do not understand it."

Chauncey Leslie and Jared Reiner led the Hawkeyes' comeback, Leslie hitting two 3-pointers during an 8-0 run and Reiner scoring all 16 of his points in the second half.

The Hawkeyes (13-11, 5-8 Big Ten) didn't score in the opening 71/2 minutes and didn't hit a field goal until more than nine minutes had elapsed.

"Shut 'em out!" a fan yelled after Iowa misfired on its ninth consecutive shot from the field.

"I guess if we're going to struggle in one half, it's better to do it in the first than in the second," Alford said with a smile.

The Hawkeyes came back to dominate the second half, outscoring the Buckeyes 54-37 in a game both teams needed to keep alive their flickering NCAA Tournament hopes.

Jeff Horner gave the Hawkeyes their first lead of the game when he hit a 3-pointer at the 13:58 mark of the second half for a 35-33 lead.

IOWA (14-10)-Sonderleiter 2-4 3-5 7, Reiner 5-6 6-6 16, Leslie 5-10 0-0 13, Horner 3-8 1-3 9, Boyd 2-7 5-8 9, Kimm 0-1 0-0 0, Worley 4-9 1-1 9, Spurgeon 0-1 2-2 2, Brunner 2-3 2-2 6. Totals 23-49 20-27 71.

OHIO ST. (13-12)-Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Radinovic 5-6 4-6 14, Connolly 5-13 2-2 15, Darby 5-18 9-9 20, Jernigan 1-5 0-0 2, Bass 0-0 0-0 0, Fuss-Cheatham 0-0 0-0 0, Salley 0-0 0-0 0, Sylvester 3-6 2-2 8, Jenkins 2-7 1-6 5, Marinchick 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-57 18-25 64.

Halftime-Ohio St. 27, Iowa 17. 3-point goals-Iowa 5-17 (Leslie 3-5, Horner 2-6, Brunner 0-1, Worley 0-1, Boyd 0-4), Ohio St. 4-17 (Connolly 3-8, Darby 1-7, Jernigan 0-2). Fouled out-Sonderleiter, Worley, Radinovic. Rebounds-Iowa 31 (Reiner 10), Ohio St. 36 (Jenkins 9). Assists-Iowa 12 (Leslie 7), Ohio St. 10 (Darby 7). Total fouls-Iowa 23, Ohio St. 23. A-15,090.