LGHL Game Preview: No. 9 Ohio State women’s basketball at No. 25 Michigan
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Game Preview: No. 9 Ohio State women’s basketball at No. 25 Michigan
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Rivalry renews on the court when the Buckeyes travel to Ann Arbor.
With the expansion of the Big Ten, there were sacrifices. On top of adding a few thousand miles to every team’s travel itinerary and three teams destined to miss the Big Ten Tournament for the first time, certain matchups went by the wayside. No. 9 Ohio State women’s basketball and No. 25 Michigan knows this well, playing in their first season without two regular season matchups in five years.
That means the hardcourt edition of The Rivalry has one chance for either side to snatch up bragging rights, barring any postseason play. Included this season are six new starters among the two programs who play in their first edition of the bitter fan rivalry of neighboring states.
On top of it all, it’s the first time the two sides play each other as ranked sides since March of 2023.
Look at the AP Top 25, and the Wolverines have a unique distinction as the only team with four losses. While it’s not something a program will hang their hat on, or brag about on Instagram, the reason Michigan still has a place in the weekly rankings is because the four teams they’ve lost to are all outstanding.
When four of Michigan’s top five scorers either left due to eligibility or the transfer portal, most notably the Wolverines’ leading scorer Laila Phelia leaving for Texas and the new SEC territory, head coach Kim Barnes Arico didn’t play it safe with the schedule. Not at all.
Michigan’s four losses came against teams all in the top-10, including both programs that have secured a No. 1 ranking this season. It began with the South Carolina Gamecocks on the first game of the season.
Looking at the matchup, it was easy to pick the Gamecocks to win the matchup, but it was nothing close to easy for head coach Dawn Staley’s South Carolina side. Michigan lost 62-68 and 34 of those points for the Maize and Blue came from freshmen starters.
Leading the way that day, and almost every game after that, was No. 4 overall 2024 prospect Syla Swords. The Canadian freshman scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against South Carolina and in each game against top opponents, Swords doesn’t hide from the moment, she rises to it.
In three games against then No. 1 South Carolina, No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 1 UCLA, Swords averaged 22.7 points per game. Swords’ game is enough to give anyone fits, and it’ll be a challenge for Ohio State. The guard is 6-foot and can score from all three levels. Against Virginia Tech, Swords went 6-of-10 from beyond the arc, the best deep shooting performance of the season in the 76-65 Michigan win.
Swords can also go to the basket with size, and grab rebounds consistently, leading the Wolverines with 6.5 per game.
With Michigan playing with five starting guards, the defensive assignment that works best for the Buckeyes is either guard Chance Gray or guard/forward Taylor Thierry. Whoever lands on the freshman can’t give her time to shoot, because Swords doesn’t need much of it to throw up a three-point attempt.
Thierry can match Swords for size but Michigan will try to switch off with screens to get forwards Ajae Petty or Cotie McMahon in on defending someone who’s in the running for Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a spot on First Team All-Big Ten.
Swords is not the only freshman to watch. Guard Olivia Olson is a 6-foot-1 guard who matches Swords in the scoring department, sitting only a point behind her fellow freshman’s team-leading average. The two play alongside senior leaders Jordan Hobbs and Greta Kampshroeder, bringing stability to a young starting lineup.
Freshman Mila Holloway brings it all together, playing point guard in her first season as a starter who’s excelling in college even without being a top-100 prospect. It’ll be an all-freshman point guard battle when Holloway goes up against Cambridge.
The winner of Wednesday’s game will focus around that battle. Cambridge is third in the Big Ten in steals per game (2.5) while Holloway is second in turnovers (52). Ohio State’s offense can’t take the youth of the Wolverines for granted, because without baskets going in, the press won’t set up for Ohio State. Also, Michigan comes in with more motivation than usual, even in a rivalry game.
Michigan is back home after coming back a little battered from their trip to California. Of the four losses this season, two came in Los Angeles with the Wolverines falling by 30 points to the No. 4 USC Trojans, without Swords, and the freshman’s return against No. 1 UCLA ending in an 86-70 Bruins victory.
G- Jaloni Cambridge
G- Chance Gray
G- Taylor Thierry
F- Cotie McMahon
F- Ajae Petty
Michigan
G- Mila Holloway
G- Greta Kampschroeder
G- Syla Swords
G- Olivia Olson
G- Jordan Hobbs
Ohio State started their 92-62 win over Northwestern on Sunday with four turnovers in the first minute and a half. Michigan is going to expect that kind of pressure early on but will be prepared for it early on. The Wolverines will take an early lead over Ohio State, but it won’t take the Buckeyes out of the game.
Michigan will play with more intensity than the Buckeyes in the first half but after half time Ohio State will adjust. Jaloni Cambridge will take center stage in the game, but not always with scoring. The freshman will go to the basket but the quickness of Michigan leveraging five starting guards will have her find outlets, mainly Taylor Thierry.
The Scarlet and Gray senior’s had a quiet few games for the Buckeyes but won’t against the Wolverines. Thierry will allow Gray and McMahon opportunities to shoot from deep with high efficiency inside the paint.
It will be a tightly fought game, with the winner pulling away in the final minutes of the game. Cambridge will lead scorers for the second game in a row and have a double-double with assists.
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Crisler Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Stream: B1G+
Wednesday’s game between two ranked Big Ten sides, in a rivalry matchup, is behind the B1G+ paywall. On the Big Ten Network is a doubleheader of men’s basketball games, but choosing one sport or gender over the other isn’t the problem.
The Big Ten has an issue with accessible channels for its now 18-team conference. For women’s basketball, 17 of the 18 teams have at least one conference game on the Big Ten streaming app, and most of the 18 teams are playing more games on B1G+ this season than last.
A bigger issue is what’s on the other channels of the FOX Sports family. On FS2, there’s repeats of flat track racing instead of a live ranked matchup.
While people dislike ESPN for their own reasons, their streaming platform is relatively inexpensive compared to B1G+, and one subscription gets you access to hundreds of ACC and SEC WBB games throughout the year, plus many more conferences.
The Big Ten needs to get rid of the B1G+ app and integrate all the events with the FOX Sports app. There’s no reason why a ranked matchup between two top-25 Big Ten teams should be relegated to an expensive paywall app like B1G+.
Maybe its time to flex away the racing repeats?
Continue reading...
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Rivalry renews on the court when the Buckeyes travel to Ann Arbor.
With the expansion of the Big Ten, there were sacrifices. On top of adding a few thousand miles to every team’s travel itinerary and three teams destined to miss the Big Ten Tournament for the first time, certain matchups went by the wayside. No. 9 Ohio State women’s basketball and No. 25 Michigan knows this well, playing in their first season without two regular season matchups in five years.
That means the hardcourt edition of The Rivalry has one chance for either side to snatch up bragging rights, barring any postseason play. Included this season are six new starters among the two programs who play in their first edition of the bitter fan rivalry of neighboring states.
On top of it all, it’s the first time the two sides play each other as ranked sides since March of 2023.
Preview
Look at the AP Top 25, and the Wolverines have a unique distinction as the only team with four losses. While it’s not something a program will hang their hat on, or brag about on Instagram, the reason Michigan still has a place in the weekly rankings is because the four teams they’ve lost to are all outstanding.
When four of Michigan’s top five scorers either left due to eligibility or the transfer portal, most notably the Wolverines’ leading scorer Laila Phelia leaving for Texas and the new SEC territory, head coach Kim Barnes Arico didn’t play it safe with the schedule. Not at all.
Michigan’s four losses came against teams all in the top-10, including both programs that have secured a No. 1 ranking this season. It began with the South Carolina Gamecocks on the first game of the season.
Looking at the matchup, it was easy to pick the Gamecocks to win the matchup, but it was nothing close to easy for head coach Dawn Staley’s South Carolina side. Michigan lost 62-68 and 34 of those points for the Maize and Blue came from freshmen starters.
Leading the way that day, and almost every game after that, was No. 4 overall 2024 prospect Syla Swords. The Canadian freshman scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against South Carolina and in each game against top opponents, Swords doesn’t hide from the moment, she rises to it.
In three games against then No. 1 South Carolina, No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 1 UCLA, Swords averaged 22.7 points per game. Swords’ game is enough to give anyone fits, and it’ll be a challenge for Ohio State. The guard is 6-foot and can score from all three levels. Against Virginia Tech, Swords went 6-of-10 from beyond the arc, the best deep shooting performance of the season in the 76-65 Michigan win.
Swords can also go to the basket with size, and grab rebounds consistently, leading the Wolverines with 6.5 per game.
With Michigan playing with five starting guards, the defensive assignment that works best for the Buckeyes is either guard Chance Gray or guard/forward Taylor Thierry. Whoever lands on the freshman can’t give her time to shoot, because Swords doesn’t need much of it to throw up a three-point attempt.
Thierry can match Swords for size but Michigan will try to switch off with screens to get forwards Ajae Petty or Cotie McMahon in on defending someone who’s in the running for Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a spot on First Team All-Big Ten.
Swords is not the only freshman to watch. Guard Olivia Olson is a 6-foot-1 guard who matches Swords in the scoring department, sitting only a point behind her fellow freshman’s team-leading average. The two play alongside senior leaders Jordan Hobbs and Greta Kampshroeder, bringing stability to a young starting lineup.
Freshman Mila Holloway brings it all together, playing point guard in her first season as a starter who’s excelling in college even without being a top-100 prospect. It’ll be an all-freshman point guard battle when Holloway goes up against Cambridge.
The winner of Wednesday’s game will focus around that battle. Cambridge is third in the Big Ten in steals per game (2.5) while Holloway is second in turnovers (52). Ohio State’s offense can’t take the youth of the Wolverines for granted, because without baskets going in, the press won’t set up for Ohio State. Also, Michigan comes in with more motivation than usual, even in a rivalry game.
Michigan is back home after coming back a little battered from their trip to California. Of the four losses this season, two came in Los Angeles with the Wolverines falling by 30 points to the No. 4 USC Trojans, without Swords, and the freshman’s return against No. 1 UCLA ending in an 86-70 Bruins victory.
Projected Starters
Ohio State
G- Jaloni Cambridge
G- Chance Gray
G- Taylor Thierry
F- Cotie McMahon
F- Ajae Petty
Lineup Notes
- Ohio State is one of two teams in the Big Ten where all five starters average at least 10 ppg, alongside Illinois.
- The Buckeyes have four straight games where at least four players scored double figures. In each win, one of those double-digit performances came from someone on the bench.
- In five previous matchups against the Wolverines, Cotie McMahon averages 14 points per game.
Michigan
G- Mila Holloway
G- Greta Kampschroeder
G- Syla Swords
G- Olivia Olson
G- Jordan Hobbs
Lineup Notes
- Jordan Hobbs is the only starter for the Wolverines who’s started against the Buckeyes. In six games, Hobbs averages 6.7 points.
- The freshmen trio of Michigan accounts for 52% of the overall scoring for the Wolverines.
- Only four players return for the Wolverines from the 23-24 season, accounting for a return of only 20 percent of last year’s scoring.
Prediction
Ohio State started their 92-62 win over Northwestern on Sunday with four turnovers in the first minute and a half. Michigan is going to expect that kind of pressure early on but will be prepared for it early on. The Wolverines will take an early lead over Ohio State, but it won’t take the Buckeyes out of the game.
Michigan will play with more intensity than the Buckeyes in the first half but after half time Ohio State will adjust. Jaloni Cambridge will take center stage in the game, but not always with scoring. The freshman will go to the basket but the quickness of Michigan leveraging five starting guards will have her find outlets, mainly Taylor Thierry.
The Scarlet and Gray senior’s had a quiet few games for the Buckeyes but won’t against the Wolverines. Thierry will allow Gray and McMahon opportunities to shoot from deep with high efficiency inside the paint.
It will be a tightly fought game, with the winner pulling away in the final minutes of the game. Cambridge will lead scorers for the second game in a row and have a double-double with assists.
How to Watch
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Crisler Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Stream: B1G+
LGHL Score Prediction: 82-78, Ohio State Buckeyes
Big Ten’s Coverage Problem
Wednesday’s game between two ranked Big Ten sides, in a rivalry matchup, is behind the B1G+ paywall. On the Big Ten Network is a doubleheader of men’s basketball games, but choosing one sport or gender over the other isn’t the problem.
The Big Ten has an issue with accessible channels for its now 18-team conference. For women’s basketball, 17 of the 18 teams have at least one conference game on the Big Ten streaming app, and most of the 18 teams are playing more games on B1G+ this season than last.
A bigger issue is what’s on the other channels of the FOX Sports family. On FS2, there’s repeats of flat track racing instead of a live ranked matchup.
While people dislike ESPN for their own reasons, their streaming platform is relatively inexpensive compared to B1G+, and one subscription gets you access to hundreds of ACC and SEC WBB games throughout the year, plus many more conferences.
The Big Ten needs to get rid of the B1G+ app and integrate all the events with the FOX Sports app. There’s no reason why a ranked matchup between two top-25 Big Ten teams should be relegated to an expensive paywall app like B1G+.
Maybe its time to flex away the racing repeats?
Continue reading...
