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LGHL What does Ohio State need to do to host during March Madness?

What does Ohio State need to do to host during March Madness?
ThomasCostello
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Michigan State v Ohio State

Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images

The Buckeyes have their backs against the wall, seeding-wise. Here’s what the Buckeyes need to do to solidify a top-16 seed

For the past two seasons, the start of the NCAA Tournament went through Columbus, Ohio. Unlike the men’s tournament, the women’s edition features the top-16 teams in the 68-team field hosting the first two rounds of the tournament. From there, the four brackets more to two regional locations. This season, the Buckeyes hosting isn’t a sure bet like last season when the Scarlet and Gray entered a No. 2 seed.

This year, Ohio State sits at No. 16 in the top-16 released by the NCAA Tournament committee. Fall one more spot and the Buckeyes have to pack up and get on the road to one of the 16 locations.

The Buckeyes don’t only avoid lengthy travel to possibly as far west as California and as far south as Austin, Texas, but get to play at home where Ohio State is 15-0 this season.

Here’s what the Scarlet and Gray have to do in order to make sure it happens.


Win


Simple enough, but it is the only area where the Buckeyes are in complete control. It begins Sunday when Ohio State travels to College Park, Maryland to face the No. 18 Maryland Terrapins.

On Jan. 23, the Buckeyes defeated the Terrapins in Columbus, 74-66. In that game, both Maryland guards Shyanne Sellers and Bri McDaniel missed due to injury. For McDaniel, it was an ACL tear earlier in January that rules the Terrapin’s sixth player out until likely halfway through the 25-26 season. Sellers missed due to a knee injury sustained against the Texas Longhorns three days prior.

Going to Maryland is a quad one game, meaning the toughest level of competition according to the NCAA’s NET rankings. The quad system, combined with NET rankings, helps the tournament committee work on more than AP voters or the eye test. Right now, the Buckeyes are 3-3 in quad one games. A win against the Terps is one step in the right direction.

The higher quality result, the more it weighs in the NET rankings. Now, it’s not the only metric the committee will look at, but it’s an important one nonetheless. Playing away from home, against a team ranked No. 26 in the NET rankings, through Thursday’s games, will only help Ohio State’s cause.

After that, the Scarlet and Gray need to get a win or two in the Big Ten Tournament. Ohio State can’t afford a repeat of last year’s lopsided tournament defeat to the Terps if it hopes to hold on to a starting spot. There’s also a strong chance that game is a quad one contest, with Ohio State the No. 3 seed in the tournament (not officially until the end of Sunday’s games). That lines up with potential games against Illinois, Indiana or Michigan, amongst others.

Win two games and that will likely cement hosting duties with either the USC Trojans or UCLA Bruins on their side of the conference tournament bracket. The loser of Saturday night’s monumental game between the Bruins and Trojans will be the program on Ohio State’s side of the bracket.

Ohio State doesn’t have to win the whole thing, although fans would love to see a tournament trophy in the cabinet, the first one since Kelsey Mitchell led the Buckeyes in 2018.


No More Alabama Upsets


This is not for the Buckeyes. What Ohio State can’t control is what happens to teams near the bottom or just outside of the top-16. Take Thursday night for instance. The No. 20 Alabama Crimson Tide welcomed the No. 7 LSU Tigers and with former Buckeye guard Diana Collins playing extra minutes due to teammates in foul trouble, Alabama upset LSU at home.

LSU v Alabama
Photo by Brandon Sumrall/Getty Images

That win moved Alabama up two spots in the NET rankings, with a commentator at the end of the game even saying that the win could put Alabama in the top-16. Now, take what commentators say with a grain of salt, especially when it’s an SEC Network commentator on an SEC Network broadcast, but Alabama sits two spots ahead of the Buckeyes now in the NET.

Ohio State doesn’t need Alabama going to Norman, Oklahoma on Sunday and beating the Oklahoma Sooners for a second straight upset. That could be all the side needs, giving Alabama a 6-6 record in quad one games, playing in five more than the Buckeyes this season.


Key Losses for Other Teams


Teams near Ohio State in the top-16 are the Kansas State Wildcats at No. 15, Kentucky Wildcats at No. 14, Sooners at No. 13 and Tennessee Volunteers at No. 11.

Kentucky didn’t do the Buckeyes any favors on Thursday, beating up the Vols in Lexington in an 82-58 victory. Head coach Kenny Brooks’ Wildcats have one game remaining in the regular season, against the South Carolina Gamecocks, in Columbia, South Carolina.

For the Wildcats of Kansas, they have one game left in the regular season, against the Iowa State Cyclones. Depending on the availability of center Ayoka Lee, Iowa State has a chance to upset the Wildcats and possibly fall below the Buckeyes. The two sides went to overtime on Jan. 30, with Kansas State pulling away with the home victory. Ohio State fans need center Audi Crooks and the Cyclones to upset K-State.

The teams outside of the top-16 are the most dangerous. Outside of the aforementioned Crimson Tide, the West Virginia Mountaineers, Baylor Bears and Ole Miss Rebels are sides battling for hosting duties and all three are ahead of the Buckeyes in NET.

Baylor is on a nine-game winning streak, including ranked wins against K-State and West Virginia. The Bears face the TCU Horned Frogs at home Sunday afternoon, with the winner earning sole possession of the Big 12 regular season championship. A TCU win might hold off Baylor from kicking the Buckeyes out of contention. Baylor’s last loss was coincidentally against Hailey Van Lith and the Horned Frogs, losing by five points away from home back on Jan. 26.

Ole Miss fell to the Gamecocks Thursday night and face the Tigers on Sunday, the first game for LSU since their loss to Alabama.

These are only regular season matchups too. Then the Buckeyes need slip-ups in conference tournaments.



The one thing that could have helped even more was a tougher non-conference schedule, which can’t be changed now. Head coach Kevin McGuff had a clear strategy in mind to allow his young team with three new starters time to mesh. It’s easier to do that winning games than falling to top ranked teams.

Host March Madness or not, how the Buckeyes play on Sunday and in the Big Ten Tournament are good indicators of postseason success. Over the last two games, Ohio State is playing their best basketball of the season and at the right time. Should those performances continue, where the Scarlet and Gray sleep at night may not have much of an impact.

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LGHL Ohio Stadium and the Columbus Blue Jackets host the NHL Stadium Series Game Saturday night

Ohio Stadium and the Columbus Blue Jackets host the NHL Stadium Series Game Saturday night
Brett Ludwiczak
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series Build-Out

Photo by Ben Jackson/NHLI via Getty Images

One of the biggest games in Blue Jackets history will take place this evening at one of college football’s cathedrals.

Ohio Stadium will be the setting later today for one of the coolest events in sports. The NHL will be invading the home of the Buckeyes when they host the Navy Credit Union Stadium Series game between the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets.

This marks the 43rd outdoor NHL regular season game, and second the league has held this year. Back on New Year’s Eve, the St. Louis Blues beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-2 at Wrigley Field

2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series Build-Out
Photo by Ben Jackson/NHLI via Getty Images

As if playing the game outdoors at one of college football’s most prestigious stadiums wasn’t entertaining enough, the Blue Jackets and Red Wings are neck-and-neck for playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.

The teams each enter tonight’s game with 66 points. Detroit holds the first Wild Card spot because they have more wins in regulation than Columbus. The Blue Jackets were able to cut into Detroit’s advantage on Thursday night when they beat the Red Wings 5-2 in Detroit, earning some revenge for Detroit beating the Blue Jackets 5-4 in Columbus on January 2nd.

Following a scoreless first period on Thursday night, the Red Wings jumped out to a 1-0 lead early in the second period. Not long after the Blue Jackets found their offense, scoring four goals in an 11-minute span to take a 4-1 lead at Little Caesars Arena. James van Riemsdyk scored two of those goals, Boone Jenner was credited with three assists, and Kent Johnson scored a goal and dished out an assist.

Kirill Marchenko added to his team-high goal total when he scored an empty net goal late in the game to close out the scoring. Marchenko now has 24 goals this season, four more than Johnson has netted.

Dallas Stars v Columbus Blue Jackets
Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images

With the victory, Columbus has now won all three games they have played since returning from the 4 Nations Tournament break. For those outside Columbus, Zach Werenski became a household name with his performance in the four-team tournament, assisting on five goals over the four games Team USA played.

Werenski has been one of the best defensemen in the NHL so far this season, potting 18 goals and dishing out 44 assists, giving him a team-high 62 points. Werenski has a shot at breaking Artemi Panarin’s team records of 59 assists and 87 points, both of which were set in the 2018-19 season.

Columbus being in the mix for a playoff spot shows just how tough this team is after all they have endured since before the season even began. On August 29th, Blue Jackets winger Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were tragically killed by a drunk driver in New Jersey, just a day before their sister was to be married.

Since their passing, there have been a number of touching tributes to the Gaudreau brothers by the Blue Jackets, the NHL, and the Ohio State Buckeyes even paid tribute to them prior to a football game during the season. The most touching moment came recently at a Blue Jackets game when the crowd at Nationwide Arena sang Happy Birthday to Johnny’s son, who was turning one.

Head coach Dean Evason has also had to navigate dealing with a number of injuries during his first season as head coach of the Blue Jackets. Then a week before the season started, captain Boone Jenner suffered a shoulder injury that sidelined him for the first 56 games of the season. Defenseman Erik Gudbranson was injured three games into the season.

Recently, Sean Monahan was injured after joining the team in the offseason. Monahan had 14 goals and 27 assists before he was sidelined, but should be returning in the next month. Kirill Marchenko also suffered a broken jaw before the 4 Nations break but was able to return to the ice a few weeks earlier than most were expecting since the injury wasn’t as severe as first thought.

Likely to be between the pipes for the Blue Jackets tonight is Elvis Merzlikins, who is in the midst of the best season of his NHL career. Thursday night saw backup goaltender Daniil Tarasov get the start for Columbus, clearing the way for Merzlikins to get the start at Ohio Stadium. Merzlikins is 21-14-4 this year with a 2.96 goals against average, which is a massive improvement from the last three years, which saw Merzlikins post a goals against average over three.

The only area lacking for the top goalie of the Blue Jackets is in shutouts, as he has just one so far this season, well below his career-high of five shutouts, which he set back in the 2019-20 season. Although it would be nice to see more shutouts from Merzlikins, all that matters in the end is if Columbus wins games.

To win their fourth consecutive game, the Blue Jackets will have to defeat a Detroit team that is hungry to make their first playoff appearance since the 2015-16 season. The Red Wings looked dead in the water early in the season, leading to management firing head coach Derek Lalonde on Dec. 26.

Replacing Lalonde was long-time NHL head coach Todd McLellan, who made previous stops in San Jose, Edmonton, and Los Angeles. Over the last 12 games, Detroit has posted a 9-3 record, with a seven-game winning streak kicking off that stretch.

Minnesota Wild v Detroit Red Wings
Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images

Leading the charge for the Red Wings are a quartet of scorers. Lucas Raymond is one of the best young scorers in the NHL, netting 22 goals and 41 assists so far this season. Center Dylan Larkin is the team’s captain and coming off the 4 Nations Tournament, which saw him score the game-winning goal for Team USA in the first matchup with Canada. Alex DeBrincat has a team-high 27 goals, while Patrick Kane has racked up 35 points as he is in the twilight of his career after winning three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Luckily for fans heading down to campus for tonight’s game the weather looks almost perfect for an outdoor game. There is no threat of heavy precipitation forecasted, and the overcast skies are actually welcomed in Ohio during the winter since sun actually hurts keeping the ice in top form. Although the wind will add a little chill to the air, it feels fitting for a hockey game.

Prior to the game there will be plenty of events to keep fans busy around campus. From 12:00 p.m. ET to 5:00 p.m. ET there will be the NHL PreGame in the Riverwatch Tower parking lot, allowing fans to get a picture with the Stanley Cup, as well as participate in a number of other fun activities.

There will also be a pep rally at St. John Arena, which will include a performance from the band, along with OAR. Doors at St. John Arena will open at 1:30 p.m. ET. Following the OAR concert, the Blue Jackets will do a team walk from the pep rally to Ohio Stadium.

Hopefully the Blue Jackets can earn a win in a big game at Ohio Stadium over a team from Michigan! If they are able to beat the Red Wings, maybe Ryan Day should call Dean Evason for some tips!

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