DAYTON, Ohio - Sam Thompson reached back with his right hand, snared the slightly off-target pass and dunked it in one forceful motion, providing Ohio State with its grandest slam.
And far from the only one.
Thompson had career highs with 20 points and 10 rebounds on Friday night, part of a dominating performance by Ohio State's high-flying front line, and the Buckeyes ran away to a 95-70 victory over Iona in the second round of the West Regional.
The second-seeded Buckeyes (27-7) are in prime March form with nine straight wins, including their last five games of the regular season and a run to the Big Ten tournament title.
"We have a lot of confidence," Thompson said. "We know that if we come out and do the things we're supposed to do on both sides of the ball, we could beat any team in the country."
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Given a chance to run the floor against an overmatched team, the Buckeyes left Iona (20-14) looking up and marveling.
"They're jumping above anyone on our team on a lot of the plays and finishing a lot of dunks and a lot of things we can't even get up in the air to get near," Iona coach Tim Cluess said.
Forward Deshaun Thomas has led the Buckeyes in scoring during their winning streak, averaging 17.6 points per game. He had 24 points as the Buckeyes' fast breaks led to dunks and a season high in points, thrilling the large Ohio State contingent.
Even Buckeyes coach Thad Matta - a traditionalist when it comes to scoring style - enjoyed the dunk show.
"It's something kids thoroughly enjoy doing, probably to a fault," Matta said. "I think guys growing up would probably rather be able to dunk than run a clean pick-and-roll.
"So we've tried to scale them down in terms of that. The dunk shot is obviously a crowd igniter. It does all those things. But honestly, I want the two points, and let's run back and play defense."
Aaron Craft had a season-high six steals and seven assists for the Buckeyes. Shannon Scott tied his career high with 10 assists.
Ohio State plays Iowa State on Sunday, one win away from a fourth straight trip to the round of 16.
Tavon Sledge scored 20 points for Iona, which had 19 turnovers that led to 29 of the Buckeyes' points. Former Arizona Wildcat MoMo Jones had nine points on 3-of-14 shooting for the Gaels.
• Mississippi 57, Wisconsin 46: In Kansas City, Mo., Marshall Henderson shook out of a shooting slump and scored 17 points in the second half, giving the Rebels their first NCAA tournament win since 2002.
For the cold-shooting Badgers (23-12), the upset loss snaps a string of six straight first-game victories. No. 12-seeded Ole Miss (27-8) trailed 25-22 at halftime and Henderson, who led the Southeastern Conference with 20 points a game, had only two points on 1-for-11 shooting.
The Rebels will play No. 13 La Salle on Sunday.
• La Salle 63, Kansas St. 61: In Kansas City, Mo., Jerrell Wright made three foul shots in the final 30 seconds, and No. 13 seed La Salle advanced after blowing an 18-point halftime lead to beat fourth-seeded Kansas State.
Wright, who scored a game-high 21 points for the Explorers (22-9), made the first two free throws to give La Salle a 62-61 lead. Kansas State's Jordan Henriquez missed in the paint at the other end, and Wright made the first of two more free throws with 9.6 seconds to go.
The Wildcats (27-8) raced down court, but point guard Angel Rodriguez got hung up in the corner by the Kansas State bench, and his off-balance shot over the corner of the backboard missed everything as the final buzzer sounded and the Explorers leaped off their bench to celebrate the upset.
• Iowa St. 76, Notre Dame 58: In Dayton, Ohio, freshman Georges Niang matched a season high with 19 points and Iowa State, showing it can do much more than just fire away from outside the three-point line, dismantled Notre Dame.
The 10th-seeded Cyclones (23-11) led the nation in three-pointers this season, but the Cyclones were just as effective from short range in ousting the Fighting Irish (25-10), who played their final game as a member of the Big East and will join the Atlantic Coast Conference next season.
Melvin Ejim added 17 points for Iowa State, which shot better than 70 percent for much of the second half.
Tom Knight scored 14 to lead the Fighting Irish.
