-
New here? Register here now for access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Plus, stay connected and follow BP on Instagram @buckeyeplanet and Facebook.
LGHL Ohio State women’s half time talk that made history
- News
- 0 Replies
Ohio State women’s half time talk that made history
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images
The Buckeyes erased a 24-point deficit in Minneapolis to keep their Big Ten Tournament alive
Ohio State women’s basketball coach Kevin McGuff is a family man. McGuff has six children with his wife Letitia. On Saturday at halftime, when the Buckeyes were down 20 points to the No. 1 tournament seeded Indiana Hoosiers, they came to his mind, but not in the way you might think.
“First thought in my head is it’s my son’s confirmation tomorrow, and should I talk to Beth about getting the plane ready so we can get back and I can make that?,” said McGuff. “But then I thought, I don’t want to do it.”
Ohio State didn’t plan any red eye flights, instead they broke a Big Ten record by coming back from 24 points in a 79-75 victory. Before the Buckeyes got there, they had a chat in the halftime locker room. Part of that message, oddly enough, was centered around continuing to do what the Buckeyes did to start the game.
In that first half, Ohio State scored 26 points on 28.6% shooting. In one stretch, the Scarlet & Gray missed 14 shots in a row from the run of play. When it began, the Buckeyes were tied 10-10, but when it ended after 7:41 of game clock, Ohio State was down 14 points to a side who twice this season beat them by double-digits.
“We talked about continuing to get good shots. I thought the shots that we got were fine in the first half,” said McGuff. “We just weren’t making them.”
In the third quarter, it got better. After shooting going 1-for-13 from three-point range in the first half, the Buckeyes went 3-for-8 in the third quarter. Also, their shooting percentage increased nearly 20 points to 42.9%.
Compare that to the Buckeyes’ regular season average of 47.3% and it doesn’t leap off the page. However, when Ohio State is hitting shots, the full court press joins the conversation, and it talks over everything.
“When we had intensity on our press, we got a lot of stops,” said guard/forward hybrid Taylor Thierry. “Obviously with Jacy (Sheldon) back, it helps us have a lot of energy and pressure in the press. So it shows that we can get stops, and that kind of helped us come back.”
Thierry’s teammate, guard Jacy Sheldon, played her second game in a row and was the defensive catalyst, grabbing a team high four steals, but she was hardly alone in the defensive category.
Point guard Rikki Harris had three steals on top of 13 points and six assists. Harris tied Sheldon in +/- on the night too with +20 point differential when they were on the court. On one steal by Harris, she ended up seated on the media table to dive for an interception and keep it in bounds as she hit the deck.
Thierry and forward Cotie McMahon, who each had double-doubles with 19 points and 12 rebounds for Thierry and 12 points and 14 rebounds for McMahon, each had three steals themselves. Ohio State was everywhere on the court making life extremely tough for the Hoosiers.
Ohio State had nine more attempts from the field in the second half and it wasn’t simply forcing turnovers. When Indiana did shoot, their second half efficiency was 27.6%. That means Buckeyes made it to the right spots to defend. Also, McMahon guarded forward Mackenzie Holmes exclusively all night, without any practice with that pairing before the game.
“She (Holmes) absolutely murdered us the first game and the second game. We had no answer,” said coach McGuff. “We knew we had to make some type of adjustment there, either double her, so we put Cotie on and fronted just to try to keep it out of her hands.”
McMahon grabbed two of her three steals in that position. Indiana is successful because they lob the ball into Holmes and let her use her size, speed and efficiency in the paint. Instead of trying to get between the rim and Holmes,
McGuff’s strategy of not letting her get the ball in the first place was a game-changer. How effective was it? Holmes had two points in the fourth quarter, going 1-for-3 from the floor.
On Jan. 26 and Feb. 13, Holmes scored a combined 59 points against the Buckeyes. Saturday, Holmes ended the night with 12 points. Holmes’ lowest point total in any Big Ten game this season, tying a total she had against Morehead State where the forward only played 18 minutes.
Doing the same thing wasn’t the only halftime adjustment. In the second half, McGuff went for a smaller set of players, bringing in guard Emma Shumate and sitting both forwards Eboni Walker and Rebeka Mikulášiková on the bench.
It worked well considering Shumate’s long arms and ability to defend and block in the paint. Also, it gave the Buckeyes more speed to close down shooters on the perimeter. While small adjustments, they overall paid dividends in the comeback victory.
There was more said by McGuff in that locker room. It explains a lot of what fans saw in the second half.
“The last thing I said, I said, ‘hey, guys, there’s nothing to save this for. We’re not playing until the NCAA Tournament, which is weeks away,’” said McGuff, recalling the halftime talk. “‘So everything we got, we’ve got to show some fight because, if we want to truly play our best basketball down the stretch of the season, we’ve got to fight.’”
Continue reading...
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images
The Buckeyes erased a 24-point deficit in Minneapolis to keep their Big Ten Tournament alive
Ohio State women’s basketball coach Kevin McGuff is a family man. McGuff has six children with his wife Letitia. On Saturday at halftime, when the Buckeyes were down 20 points to the No. 1 tournament seeded Indiana Hoosiers, they came to his mind, but not in the way you might think.
“First thought in my head is it’s my son’s confirmation tomorrow, and should I talk to Beth about getting the plane ready so we can get back and I can make that?,” said McGuff. “But then I thought, I don’t want to do it.”
Ohio State didn’t plan any red eye flights, instead they broke a Big Ten record by coming back from 24 points in a 79-75 victory. Before the Buckeyes got there, they had a chat in the halftime locker room. Part of that message, oddly enough, was centered around continuing to do what the Buckeyes did to start the game.
In that first half, Ohio State scored 26 points on 28.6% shooting. In one stretch, the Scarlet & Gray missed 14 shots in a row from the run of play. When it began, the Buckeyes were tied 10-10, but when it ended after 7:41 of game clock, Ohio State was down 14 points to a side who twice this season beat them by double-digits.
“We talked about continuing to get good shots. I thought the shots that we got were fine in the first half,” said McGuff. “We just weren’t making them.”
In the third quarter, it got better. After shooting going 1-for-13 from three-point range in the first half, the Buckeyes went 3-for-8 in the third quarter. Also, their shooting percentage increased nearly 20 points to 42.9%.
Compare that to the Buckeyes’ regular season average of 47.3% and it doesn’t leap off the page. However, when Ohio State is hitting shots, the full court press joins the conversation, and it talks over everything.
“When we had intensity on our press, we got a lot of stops,” said guard/forward hybrid Taylor Thierry. “Obviously with Jacy (Sheldon) back, it helps us have a lot of energy and pressure in the press. So it shows that we can get stops, and that kind of helped us come back.”
Thierry’s teammate, guard Jacy Sheldon, played her second game in a row and was the defensive catalyst, grabbing a team high four steals, but she was hardly alone in the defensive category.
Point guard Rikki Harris had three steals on top of 13 points and six assists. Harris tied Sheldon in +/- on the night too with +20 point differential when they were on the court. On one steal by Harris, she ended up seated on the media table to dive for an interception and keep it in bounds as she hit the deck.
Q4 | Defenseoffense, courtesy of @rik_2019 and Taylor Thierry!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/7r7NxUUSsH
— Ohio State WBB (@OhioStateWBB) March 4, 2023
Thierry and forward Cotie McMahon, who each had double-doubles with 19 points and 12 rebounds for Thierry and 12 points and 14 rebounds for McMahon, each had three steals themselves. Ohio State was everywhere on the court making life extremely tough for the Hoosiers.
Ohio State had nine more attempts from the field in the second half and it wasn’t simply forcing turnovers. When Indiana did shoot, their second half efficiency was 27.6%. That means Buckeyes made it to the right spots to defend. Also, McMahon guarded forward Mackenzie Holmes exclusively all night, without any practice with that pairing before the game.
“She (Holmes) absolutely murdered us the first game and the second game. We had no answer,” said coach McGuff. “We knew we had to make some type of adjustment there, either double her, so we put Cotie on and fronted just to try to keep it out of her hands.”
McMahon grabbed two of her three steals in that position. Indiana is successful because they lob the ball into Holmes and let her use her size, speed and efficiency in the paint. Instead of trying to get between the rim and Holmes,
McGuff’s strategy of not letting her get the ball in the first place was a game-changer. How effective was it? Holmes had two points in the fourth quarter, going 1-for-3 from the floor.
On Jan. 26 and Feb. 13, Holmes scored a combined 59 points against the Buckeyes. Saturday, Holmes ended the night with 12 points. Holmes’ lowest point total in any Big Ten game this season, tying a total she had against Morehead State where the forward only played 18 minutes.
Doing the same thing wasn’t the only halftime adjustment. In the second half, McGuff went for a smaller set of players, bringing in guard Emma Shumate and sitting both forwards Eboni Walker and Rebeka Mikulášiková on the bench.
It worked well considering Shumate’s long arms and ability to defend and block in the paint. Also, it gave the Buckeyes more speed to close down shooters on the perimeter. While small adjustments, they overall paid dividends in the comeback victory.
There was more said by McGuff in that locker room. It explains a lot of what fans saw in the second half.
“The last thing I said, I said, ‘hey, guys, there’s nothing to save this for. We’re not playing until the NCAA Tournament, which is weeks away,’” said McGuff, recalling the halftime talk. “‘So everything we got, we’ve got to show some fight because, if we want to truly play our best basketball down the stretch of the season, we’ve got to fight.’”
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State has largest comeback in B1G tournament history, beating Indiana 79-75
- News
- 0 Replies
Ohio State has largest comeback in B1G tournament history, beating Indiana 79-75
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images
After two defeats to the Hoosiers, the Buckeyes had one more chance to get into the win column on Saturday
The Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament continued Saturday in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Although the fun of upsets weren’t evident in the later rounds of the five-round tournament, with all four top seeds advancing to the semifinals, a match-up between the strongest in the conference was must see basketball. The first of two semifinals games featured the Ohio State women’s basketball team and the Indiana Hoosiers.
After losing both games against the Hoosiers this season, and four straight entering Saturday, the Buckeyes got over the hump, beating the Hoosiers 79-75. They did it after coming back from down 24 points, the largest comeback in Big Ten Tournament history.
With the win, the Scarlet & Gray head back to the Big Ten Tournament final for the first time since a 2020 loss to the Maryland Terrapins.
Ohio State started the game with a second straight appearance by guard Jacy Sheldon, who returned Friday after playing once since Nov. 30, 2022. Also in good injury news was point guard Rikki Harris back in the lineup after suffering a late fall on Friday against the Michigan Wolverines.
From the tip-off, the Hoosiers had the momentum. It started with a three-point shot by Indiana guard Grace Berger, only her 10th from distance this season. After almost three minutes, Indiana went up six points, and it felt like a Buckeyes timeout was incoming.
Instead, head coach Kevin McGuff let the Scarlet & Gray work out of it, and they did. In less than a minute, the Buckeyes wiped the deficit away thanks to a trio of layups. The first came from an impressive pass through three defenders by Harris, who found guard Taylor Thierry on the other end for an open make.
Then, picking up where she left off Friday, forward Cotie McMahon did a spin move to get through Berger and forward Mackenzie Holmes, making the layup. After trading free throws, it looked like it could be a more evenly matched game but instead the Hoosiers went streaking.
Ohio State missed their next 10 shots while Indiana went on an 11-point run. A stretch of 5:34 without a single shot made by the Buckeyes, going into the second quarter down 12-23.
It continued into the second quarter, with the Buckeyes starting with a travel violation right off the inbound pass. Nothing was working For Ohio State in the slightest.
For example, the Scarlet & Gray grabbed a steal, the second by McMahon, and went down the court attempting a layup. That attempt missed, as was a follow-up offensive rebound and attempt by Thierry. On the subsequent Indiana possession, guard Sydney Parrish drained a three, extending their Hoosiers streak to 16 points.
It would continue to get worse for the Buckeyes.
The Scarlet & Gray missed 14 shots in a row from the midway point of the first quarter into the second quarter. From there, it didn’t get much better, going 5-for-14 for the remainder of the half.
Hurting the Buckeyes the most were shots from beyond the arc. Ohio State entered the locker room 1-for-13 from deep, with the lone make coming from substitute forward Rebeka Mikulášiková with 54 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
At that point, the Hoosiers offense wasn’t slowing down scoring 46 first half points. Ohio State scored the last four points of the half but it only lowered their deficit to 20 points entering the locker room, down 46-26.
It seemed like the Buckeyes were out, but the third quarter was some of the best basketball Ohio State’s played all season. The Scarlet & Gray outscored the Hoosiers 27-17 in the third quarter, didn’t have a single turnover and forced five from Indiana.
Ohio State accomplished it with their full court press. Sheldon had two steals along with Harris and Thierry grabbing one apiece. They forced Indiana to have their worst shooting quarter of the game, going 4-for-10, compared to 21 attempts by the Buckeyes.
Leading the way offensively for Ohio State were Thierry and Harris. The two scored eight and seven respectively and at the end of the third quarter, the Buckeyes were down only 10 after being down 20 points at the half.
That clean basketball in the third was replaced with a tough start to the fourth quarter. Ohio State had three turnovers in the first 3:37 of the fourth quarter. In that span, Indiana pushed their lead back up to double-digits with Ohio State getting it down to five in the first two minutes of the final quarter, scoring the first five of the last 10 minutes of the game.
Again the Buckeyes shrunk the lead thanks to forcing turnovers. Harris had two following a timeout to bring the game back within five points. Of the two, one of them saw Harris leap in the air and land on the media table with Thierry getting a layup and bonus shot on a foul.
Then, after being down 24 points in the second quarter and down 10 points the start of the fourth quarter, Ohio State got their first lead since the 17 second mark in the first quarter.
Sheldon and Mikesell outscored IU in their own 8-3 run. With 1:10 remaining, after IU got the one point lead, Thierry got Ohio State back in the lead with with two free throws.
Indiana had the ball after the free throws and Holmes hit the layup with 45.4 second remaining, putting the Hoosiers up 75-74. The Buckeyes had possession and a timeout to draw up a play.
Harris hit the layup on the inbound, giving Indiana the ball with a one-point deficit with 37.9 seconds remaining. Berger missed the layup and Ohio State had the ball back with 26 seconds remaining and two shots from Indiana going to the bonus. Mikesell hit one of two free throws giving the Buckeyes a two-point lead.
Ohio State pulled off the unquestionable though, holding the lead thanks to hitting free throws in the bonus. The Buckeyes win 79-75.
This season, guard Taylor Mikesell played 13 games where she hit all 40 minutes of game time. All season, she averages 35.6 minutes per game, but heading into the fourth quarter, Mikesell had only 21 minutes. In none of the quarters did the guard play all 10 minutes. That could be a tactic for staying healthy with the NCAA Tournament looming or more.
Playing the No. 2 team in the country and conference champions doesn’t allow for much room for error. Ohio State’s first half was a hole that looked too large to get out of after 1-for-13 shooting from beyond the arc plagued the Buckeyes in the first half.
The Buckeyes recovered from the tough shooting half and got back into within single digits, but a lot of questions surround what could have been if shots fell in the first half.
With Ohio State’s victory, the Buckeyes sit and wait for the winner of the other semifinal between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Maryland Terrapins. Ohio State is 0-3 against the two teams this season, losing twice to Maryland and once at home to the Hawkeyes.
If the Scarlet & Gray pull out the final victory, it’ll be their sixth win overall, but fifth official win with the 2018 title vacated by the NCAA.
Continue reading...
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images
After two defeats to the Hoosiers, the Buckeyes had one more chance to get into the win column on Saturday
The Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament continued Saturday in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Although the fun of upsets weren’t evident in the later rounds of the five-round tournament, with all four top seeds advancing to the semifinals, a match-up between the strongest in the conference was must see basketball. The first of two semifinals games featured the Ohio State women’s basketball team and the Indiana Hoosiers.
After losing both games against the Hoosiers this season, and four straight entering Saturday, the Buckeyes got over the hump, beating the Hoosiers 79-75. They did it after coming back from down 24 points, the largest comeback in Big Ten Tournament history.
With the win, the Scarlet & Gray head back to the Big Ten Tournament final for the first time since a 2020 loss to the Maryland Terrapins.
Ohio State started the game with a second straight appearance by guard Jacy Sheldon, who returned Friday after playing once since Nov. 30, 2022. Also in good injury news was point guard Rikki Harris back in the lineup after suffering a late fall on Friday against the Michigan Wolverines.
From the tip-off, the Hoosiers had the momentum. It started with a three-point shot by Indiana guard Grace Berger, only her 10th from distance this season. After almost three minutes, Indiana went up six points, and it felt like a Buckeyes timeout was incoming.
Instead, head coach Kevin McGuff let the Scarlet & Gray work out of it, and they did. In less than a minute, the Buckeyes wiped the deficit away thanks to a trio of layups. The first came from an impressive pass through three defenders by Harris, who found guard Taylor Thierry on the other end for an open make.
Then, picking up where she left off Friday, forward Cotie McMahon did a spin move to get through Berger and forward Mackenzie Holmes, making the layup. After trading free throws, it looked like it could be a more evenly matched game but instead the Hoosiers went streaking.
Ohio State missed their next 10 shots while Indiana went on an 11-point run. A stretch of 5:34 without a single shot made by the Buckeyes, going into the second quarter down 12-23.
It continued into the second quarter, with the Buckeyes starting with a travel violation right off the inbound pass. Nothing was working For Ohio State in the slightest.
For example, the Scarlet & Gray grabbed a steal, the second by McMahon, and went down the court attempting a layup. That attempt missed, as was a follow-up offensive rebound and attempt by Thierry. On the subsequent Indiana possession, guard Sydney Parrish drained a three, extending their Hoosiers streak to 16 points.
It would continue to get worse for the Buckeyes.
The Scarlet & Gray missed 14 shots in a row from the midway point of the first quarter into the second quarter. From there, it didn’t get much better, going 5-for-14 for the remainder of the half.
Hurting the Buckeyes the most were shots from beyond the arc. Ohio State entered the locker room 1-for-13 from deep, with the lone make coming from substitute forward Rebeka Mikulášiková with 54 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
At that point, the Hoosiers offense wasn’t slowing down scoring 46 first half points. Ohio State scored the last four points of the half but it only lowered their deficit to 20 points entering the locker room, down 46-26.
It seemed like the Buckeyes were out, but the third quarter was some of the best basketball Ohio State’s played all season. The Scarlet & Gray outscored the Hoosiers 27-17 in the third quarter, didn’t have a single turnover and forced five from Indiana.
Ohio State accomplished it with their full court press. Sheldon had two steals along with Harris and Thierry grabbing one apiece. They forced Indiana to have their worst shooting quarter of the game, going 4-for-10, compared to 21 attempts by the Buckeyes.
Leading the way offensively for Ohio State were Thierry and Harris. The two scored eight and seven respectively and at the end of the third quarter, the Buckeyes were down only 10 after being down 20 points at the half.
That clean basketball in the third was replaced with a tough start to the fourth quarter. Ohio State had three turnovers in the first 3:37 of the fourth quarter. In that span, Indiana pushed their lead back up to double-digits with Ohio State getting it down to five in the first two minutes of the final quarter, scoring the first five of the last 10 minutes of the game.
Again the Buckeyes shrunk the lead thanks to forcing turnovers. Harris had two following a timeout to bring the game back within five points. Of the two, one of them saw Harris leap in the air and land on the media table with Thierry getting a layup and bonus shot on a foul.
Then, after being down 24 points in the second quarter and down 10 points the start of the fourth quarter, Ohio State got their first lead since the 17 second mark in the first quarter.
Sheldon and Mikesell outscored IU in their own 8-3 run. With 1:10 remaining, after IU got the one point lead, Thierry got Ohio State back in the lead with with two free throws.
Indiana had the ball after the free throws and Holmes hit the layup with 45.4 second remaining, putting the Hoosiers up 75-74. The Buckeyes had possession and a timeout to draw up a play.
Harris hit the layup on the inbound, giving Indiana the ball with a one-point deficit with 37.9 seconds remaining. Berger missed the layup and Ohio State had the ball back with 26 seconds remaining and two shots from Indiana going to the bonus. Mikesell hit one of two free throws giving the Buckeyes a two-point lead.
Ohio State pulled off the unquestionable though, holding the lead thanks to hitting free throws in the bonus. The Buckeyes win 79-75.
Taylor Mikesell Minutes Limited
This season, guard Taylor Mikesell played 13 games where she hit all 40 minutes of game time. All season, she averages 35.6 minutes per game, but heading into the fourth quarter, Mikesell had only 21 minutes. In none of the quarters did the guard play all 10 minutes. That could be a tactic for staying healthy with the NCAA Tournament looming or more.
Shooting from Deep
Playing the No. 2 team in the country and conference champions doesn’t allow for much room for error. Ohio State’s first half was a hole that looked too large to get out of after 1-for-13 shooting from beyond the arc plagued the Buckeyes in the first half.
The Buckeyes recovered from the tough shooting half and got back into within single digits, but a lot of questions surround what could have been if shots fell in the first half.
What’s Next
With Ohio State’s victory, the Buckeyes sit and wait for the winner of the other semifinal between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Maryland Terrapins. Ohio State is 0-3 against the two teams this season, losing twice to Maryland and once at home to the Hawkeyes.
If the Scarlet & Gray pull out the final victory, it’ll be their sixth win overall, but fifth official win with the 2018 title vacated by the NCAA.
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State battles but comes up empty in East Lansing in season finale, 84-78
- News
- 0 Replies
Ohio State battles but comes up empty in East Lansing in season finale, 84-78
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Dale Young-USA TODAY Sports
Ohio State still has not won in East Lansing since 2011. Some things never change!
On Saturday afternoon Ohio State had the chance to end the regular season on a three-game winning streak, spoil someone’s senior day, and also deny a team that already beat them a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
The catch? That team is Michigan State, who already beat the Buckeyes by 21 this season. On top of that, head coach Chris Holtmann had never won at Breslin leading into today’s game. The streak extends beyond Holtmann’s tenure, though — the Buckeyes haven’t won at Breslin since March of 2011.
And after 40 minutes of grueling basketball in front of a nearly sold-out crown in East Lansing, we learned that the aforementioned streak is going to extend at least one more year, with the Spartans downing the Buckeyes 84-78.
Ohio State stuck with the same starting five they’ve been rolling with since Zed Key went down with a shoulder injury. Bruce Thornton started at guard alongside Roddy Gayle. Brice Sensabaugh and Justice Sueing were the starting forwards, with Felix Okpara — coming off his first career double-double — at center.
Honoring their seniors, Tom Izzo went with a starting five of Tyson Walker, Jason Whitens, A.J. Hoggard, Malik Hall, and Joey Hauser.
The Spartans jumped ahead in the first few minutes. After Sueing’s right-handed layup made it 4-2 Ohio State one minute into the game, MSU went on an 8-0 run to go ahead 10-4 and force the Buckeyes to call timeout. Hall missed each of his first two three-point attempts, but his third try in the opening minutes dropped from the right wing to make it 10-4, and the crowd erupted for the senior three minutes into the game.
The Spartans used a 15-0 run to put Ohio State down 13 early, but the Buckeyes scored on three of four possessions after that to get back within 10 by the nine-minute mark. Sueing hit a baseline jumper to get the Bucks back within eight after that, but Sensabaugh left Hauser wide open on the following possession for the easiest three of his life, which he nailed. The Spartans led 25-14 at the under-eight media timeout with 7:59 left in the first half.
The Buckeyes kept the Spartans on their heels a bit trying to make it a one-possession game in the first half, but could not get it back to that point after the 16-minute mark. Ohio State cut the deficit to four points more than once, but went into the halftime locker room trailing Michigan State 43-34. The Spartans shot 56.7% in the first half and knocked down 8 of their 14 threes, good for 57.1%. Ohio State, conversely, shot 44% overall in the first half and knocked down four of their 10 tries from deep.
The two teams traded baskets early in the second half, with the Spartans hitting four of their first five and Ohio State knocking down five of their first six. Michigan State’s held a 54-46 lead at the under-16 media timeout with 15:42 remaining in the game. The Ohio State offense looked well-equipped to win this game, but the defense continued to lag.
The teams continued to go tit-for-tat during the second half, with Michigan State’s lead hovering between six and nine points for most of the half. Ohio State would cut it to six or seven, and MSU would answer and push it back to nine or 10. A Sean McNeil three — his second of the game — got Ohio State back within 64-57 with 7:55 left in the game.
Thornton knocked down his fourth three-pointer of the game to get the Buckeyes back within three points with five minutes remaining, but the Buckeyes just weren’t able to overcome that early hole they put themselves in early in the first half, as they ultimately fell to the Spartans on senior day in East Lansing.
If you weren’t around today to catch Ohio State’s season finale at MSU, here are a few key moments and runs that ultimately helped propel the Spartans to a win on senior day:
Malik Hall entered today’s game as a 40% three-point shooter this season, but missed each of his first two tries in the early going. The crowd wanted to cheer for their four-year senior guard, but he clanked each of the first two tries. But with Michigan State in the middle of a 5-0 run, Hall knocked his third try down in transition to put the Spartans up 10-4 at the 16:22 mark of the first half.
After going up 4-2 in the first minute of the game, Ohio State then proceeded to miss their next eight shots while Michigan State knocked down six of their next 11. This equated to a 15-0 MSU run over the course of 6:30 of game time, putting the Spartans up 17-4 by the 13-minute mark. Okpara scored over the top of Kohler one minute later to make it 17-6 and officially end the Buckeyes’ lengthy cold streak.
After Sensabaugh left Hauser wide open for an easy three to put the Spartans up 11, Sueing went down to the other end and was fouled by Hauser at the basket. He knocked down both free throws to get OSU back within 25-16 — the first time trailing by single digits in over seven minutes.
Trailing 25-16 with roughly eight minutes left in the first half, the Buckeyes followed Sueing’s free throws with five more points — a dunk from Okpara and a three from McNeil — to get back within four points.
However, Hall answered the Buckeyes’ run with a little 5-0 run of his own, scoring on back-to-back possessions to put the Spartans up 30-21 with 5:28 remaining in the first half.
Ohio State came out of the locker room and looked for Sensabaugh right away to start the second half, with the freshman wing knocking down back-to-back three-pointers to bring MSU’s lead down to six. Gayle also got Hauser to bite on a shot fake and drive from the left corner, forcing Izzo to call timeout after the Buckeyes started the half making each of their first four shots.
However, the Spartans hit three of their first four themselves, and still led 50-44 2:45 into the second stanza.
After Thornton’s third three-pointer of the day got Ohio State back within seven points with 14:35 left, Hauser canned a triple from the corner to put the Spartans back up 10. After McNeil missed a three on the other end, Walker sprinted in transition and scored over Thornton to make it 61-49 Michigan State with just under 12 minutes remaining in the game.
The Buckeyes fell behind by a dozen points with 12 minutes remaining in the game, but went on a 15-6 run over the next five-plus minutes to get right back in it. Thornton knocked down his fourth three-pointer of the day with 5:28 remaining to get the Buckeyes back within three points, 67-64.
Ohio State (13-18, 5-15) has three days off before beginning play Wednesday night in the Big Ten Tournament as the 13-seed. They will face off with the 12-seed, which is yet to be determined. Ohio State could wind up facing Penn State, Wisconsin, or Nebraska, depending on how those three teams do in their final game of the season. Ohio State’s first-round BTT game will tip off at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Continue reading...
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Dale Young-USA TODAY Sports
Ohio State still has not won in East Lansing since 2011. Some things never change!
On Saturday afternoon Ohio State had the chance to end the regular season on a three-game winning streak, spoil someone’s senior day, and also deny a team that already beat them a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
The catch? That team is Michigan State, who already beat the Buckeyes by 21 this season. On top of that, head coach Chris Holtmann had never won at Breslin leading into today’s game. The streak extends beyond Holtmann’s tenure, though — the Buckeyes haven’t won at Breslin since March of 2011.
And after 40 minutes of grueling basketball in front of a nearly sold-out crown in East Lansing, we learned that the aforementioned streak is going to extend at least one more year, with the Spartans downing the Buckeyes 84-78.
Ohio State stuck with the same starting five they’ve been rolling with since Zed Key went down with a shoulder injury. Bruce Thornton started at guard alongside Roddy Gayle. Brice Sensabaugh and Justice Sueing were the starting forwards, with Felix Okpara — coming off his first career double-double — at center.
Honoring their seniors, Tom Izzo went with a starting five of Tyson Walker, Jason Whitens, A.J. Hoggard, Malik Hall, and Joey Hauser.
The Spartans jumped ahead in the first few minutes. After Sueing’s right-handed layup made it 4-2 Ohio State one minute into the game, MSU went on an 8-0 run to go ahead 10-4 and force the Buckeyes to call timeout. Hall missed each of his first two three-point attempts, but his third try in the opening minutes dropped from the right wing to make it 10-4, and the crowd erupted for the senior three minutes into the game.
The Spartans used a 15-0 run to put Ohio State down 13 early, but the Buckeyes scored on three of four possessions after that to get back within 10 by the nine-minute mark. Sueing hit a baseline jumper to get the Bucks back within eight after that, but Sensabaugh left Hauser wide open on the following possession for the easiest three of his life, which he nailed. The Spartans led 25-14 at the under-eight media timeout with 7:59 left in the first half.
The Buckeyes kept the Spartans on their heels a bit trying to make it a one-possession game in the first half, but could not get it back to that point after the 16-minute mark. Ohio State cut the deficit to four points more than once, but went into the halftime locker room trailing Michigan State 43-34. The Spartans shot 56.7% in the first half and knocked down 8 of their 14 threes, good for 57.1%. Ohio State, conversely, shot 44% overall in the first half and knocked down four of their 10 tries from deep.
The two teams traded baskets early in the second half, with the Spartans hitting four of their first five and Ohio State knocking down five of their first six. Michigan State’s held a 54-46 lead at the under-16 media timeout with 15:42 remaining in the game. The Ohio State offense looked well-equipped to win this game, but the defense continued to lag.
The teams continued to go tit-for-tat during the second half, with Michigan State’s lead hovering between six and nine points for most of the half. Ohio State would cut it to six or seven, and MSU would answer and push it back to nine or 10. A Sean McNeil three — his second of the game — got Ohio State back within 64-57 with 7:55 left in the game.
Thornton knocked down his fourth three-pointer of the game to get the Buckeyes back within three points with five minutes remaining, but the Buckeyes just weren’t able to overcome that early hole they put themselves in early in the first half, as they ultimately fell to the Spartans on senior day in East Lansing.
If you weren’t around today to catch Ohio State’s season finale at MSU, here are a few key moments and runs that ultimately helped propel the Spartans to a win on senior day:
Third time’s the charm for Hall
Malik Hall entered today’s game as a 40% three-point shooter this season, but missed each of his first two tries in the early going. The crowd wanted to cheer for their four-year senior guard, but he clanked each of the first two tries. But with Michigan State in the middle of a 5-0 run, Hall knocked his third try down in transition to put the Spartans up 10-4 at the 16:22 mark of the first half.
Spartans go on 15-0 run to put Buckeyes behind the 8-ball
After going up 4-2 in the first minute of the game, Ohio State then proceeded to miss their next eight shots while Michigan State knocked down six of their next 11. This equated to a 15-0 MSU run over the course of 6:30 of game time, putting the Spartans up 17-4 by the 13-minute mark. Okpara scored over the top of Kohler one minute later to make it 17-6 and officially end the Buckeyes’ lengthy cold streak.
Sueing cuts the deficit back to single digits
After Sensabaugh left Hauser wide open for an easy three to put the Spartans up 11, Sueing went down to the other end and was fouled by Hauser at the basket. He knocked down both free throws to get OSU back within 25-16 — the first time trailing by single digits in over seven minutes.
Hall answers Ohio State’s run with his own
Trailing 25-16 with roughly eight minutes left in the first half, the Buckeyes followed Sueing’s free throws with five more points — a dunk from Okpara and a three from McNeil — to get back within four points.
However, Hall answered the Buckeyes’ run with a little 5-0 run of his own, scoring on back-to-back possessions to put the Spartans up 30-21 with 5:28 remaining in the first half.
Buckeyes hit their first four shots of the second half, cut MSU lead to six
Ohio State came out of the locker room and looked for Sensabaugh right away to start the second half, with the freshman wing knocking down back-to-back three-pointers to bring MSU’s lead down to six. Gayle also got Hauser to bite on a shot fake and drive from the left corner, forcing Izzo to call timeout after the Buckeyes started the half making each of their first four shots.
However, the Spartans hit three of their first four themselves, and still led 50-44 2:45 into the second stanza.
Walker’s transition layup puts Spartans up a dozen
After Thornton’s third three-pointer of the day got Ohio State back within seven points with 14:35 left, Hauser canned a triple from the corner to put the Spartans back up 10. After McNeil missed a three on the other end, Walker sprinted in transition and scored over Thornton to make it 61-49 Michigan State with just under 12 minutes remaining in the game.
Thornton’s three makes it a one-possession game
The Buckeyes fell behind by a dozen points with 12 minutes remaining in the game, but went on a 15-6 run over the next five-plus minutes to get right back in it. Thornton knocked down his fourth three-pointer of the day with 5:28 remaining to get the Buckeyes back within three points, 67-64.
Up Next:
Ohio State (13-18, 5-15) has three days off before beginning play Wednesday night in the Big Ten Tournament as the 13-seed. They will face off with the 12-seed, which is yet to be determined. Ohio State could wind up facing Penn State, Wisconsin, or Nebraska, depending on how those three teams do in their final game of the season. Ohio State’s first-round BTT game will tip off at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State women’s last minute stand against Michigan
- News
- 0 Replies
Ohio State women’s last minute stand against Michigan
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
What was going through their heads and looking into the plan that let the Buckeyes hold on against the Wolverines
On Friday, Feb. 24, the Ohio State women’s basketball team were two points down against the No. 7 Maryland Terrapins with less than 10 seconds remaining. The Buckeyes lost that game when freshman Cotie McMahon made a second chance shot but less than a second later than the sounding of the buzzer. Friday, in the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, the Buckeyes were on the other side of a similar situation.
With 23 seconds remaining, the Michigan Wolverines had possession, down 81-79 to the Scarlet & Gray. The Maize & Blue’s goal was to do what the Buckeyes couldn’t do exactly one week prior.
The possession came off a turnover from Ohio State, who were up five points 20 seconds earlier. That’s when Michigan guard Maddie Nolan cut that to the two-point lead Ohio State was forced to defend when she hit a three-point shot prior to the Buckeyes turnover. Outside of obviously stopping a shot, there were other focuses.
“If we foul, they were going to go to the line and could have had an opportunity to tie the game,” said guard Taylor Thierry. “So honestly, like I said, being aggressive but not overly aggressive to where they get a call.”
For head coach Kevin McGuff, he was concerned about the Buckeyes defense. Earlier in the game, Ohio State’s out-of-bounds inbound defense led to easy chances for Michigan.
“So I was concerned about that, I was screaming about that, making sure we didn’t do the same thing and giving them a layup,” said McGuff.
The Wolverines had multiple options available to them at that moment. Thierry thought it would go two ways. The first was guard Maddie Nolan, who entered the final possessions with three shots from deep already and 16 points on the day. The other is the obvious choice in guard Leigha Brown, Michigan’s leading scorer.
Michigan had options beyond that too. Over the last three games, including the Big Ten second round against Penn State, forward Emily Kiser averaged 21.3 points per game. Kiser also plays a position that the Buckeyes haven’t always done well at stopping inside the paint.
Ohio State had a steep challenge to stand in front of Wolverines players and not let the role players of Michigan play those roles. Instead, a backdoor cut found guard Elise Stuck with the ball. With the defense’s back to Stuck, McMahon swung around and timed a block without fouling. The ball flew out of bounds with 10.3 seconds remaining. Michigan ball.
“I thought we forced them to shoot over us, which was the goal, and everybody crashed the boards,” said coach McGuff.
It was a high pressure situation for sure. After three single possession results in the second round of the tournament, the Buckeyes and Wolverines game was the closest in the quarterfinals. With those 10.3 seconds, Michigan went to Brown.
“So it felt like we had to buckle down and focus on one thing, and that was getting the stop,” said McMahon.
That’s what Ohio State did. With defensive pressure and the awareness to avoid fouling, Brown was in the lane, with bodies surrounding her, going for the game-tying layup. Brown missed the attempt but picked up the offensive rebound, retreating to more open ground and a midrange shot.
Brown got the last shot off with too much muscle, sending the ball beyond the rim and rebounded by McMahon who grabbed the ball, sprinted away from the basket and towards her bench to celebrate as time expired.
Although it only took 23 seconds, for the Buckeyes it felt like an eternity.
“I don’t know, just felt like it took about 67 seconds,” said coach McGuff, relieved following the victory.”
The 81-79 win is important, and the defensive stand is something to celebrate, but as is the life of an athlete, especially in a day-after-day tournament, the successes are immediately forgotten. Instead, the focus shifts to the next steep challenge for the Buckeyes: Try to beat the Indiana Hoosiers.
“Yeah, definitely going into this next game we’re going to have a lot more energy,” said Thierry. “We won this game, that’s great, but we’re moving on to the next because the most important game is the next one.”
Continue reading...
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
What was going through their heads and looking into the plan that let the Buckeyes hold on against the Wolverines
On Friday, Feb. 24, the Ohio State women’s basketball team were two points down against the No. 7 Maryland Terrapins with less than 10 seconds remaining. The Buckeyes lost that game when freshman Cotie McMahon made a second chance shot but less than a second later than the sounding of the buzzer. Friday, in the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, the Buckeyes were on the other side of a similar situation.
With 23 seconds remaining, the Michigan Wolverines had possession, down 81-79 to the Scarlet & Gray. The Maize & Blue’s goal was to do what the Buckeyes couldn’t do exactly one week prior.
The possession came off a turnover from Ohio State, who were up five points 20 seconds earlier. That’s when Michigan guard Maddie Nolan cut that to the two-point lead Ohio State was forced to defend when she hit a three-point shot prior to the Buckeyes turnover. Outside of obviously stopping a shot, there were other focuses.
“If we foul, they were going to go to the line and could have had an opportunity to tie the game,” said guard Taylor Thierry. “So honestly, like I said, being aggressive but not overly aggressive to where they get a call.”
For head coach Kevin McGuff, he was concerned about the Buckeyes defense. Earlier in the game, Ohio State’s out-of-bounds inbound defense led to easy chances for Michigan.
“So I was concerned about that, I was screaming about that, making sure we didn’t do the same thing and giving them a layup,” said McGuff.
The Wolverines had multiple options available to them at that moment. Thierry thought it would go two ways. The first was guard Maddie Nolan, who entered the final possessions with three shots from deep already and 16 points on the day. The other is the obvious choice in guard Leigha Brown, Michigan’s leading scorer.
Michigan had options beyond that too. Over the last three games, including the Big Ten second round against Penn State, forward Emily Kiser averaged 21.3 points per game. Kiser also plays a position that the Buckeyes haven’t always done well at stopping inside the paint.
Ohio State had a steep challenge to stand in front of Wolverines players and not let the role players of Michigan play those roles. Instead, a backdoor cut found guard Elise Stuck with the ball. With the defense’s back to Stuck, McMahon swung around and timed a block without fouling. The ball flew out of bounds with 10.3 seconds remaining. Michigan ball.
“I thought we forced them to shoot over us, which was the goal, and everybody crashed the boards,” said coach McGuff.
It was a high pressure situation for sure. After three single possession results in the second round of the tournament, the Buckeyes and Wolverines game was the closest in the quarterfinals. With those 10.3 seconds, Michigan went to Brown.
“So it felt like we had to buckle down and focus on one thing, and that was getting the stop,” said McMahon.
That’s what Ohio State did. With defensive pressure and the awareness to avoid fouling, Brown was in the lane, with bodies surrounding her, going for the game-tying layup. Brown missed the attempt but picked up the offensive rebound, retreating to more open ground and a midrange shot.
Brown got the last shot off with too much muscle, sending the ball beyond the rim and rebounded by McMahon who grabbed the ball, sprinted away from the basket and towards her bench to celebrate as time expired.
Although it only took 23 seconds, for the Buckeyes it felt like an eternity.
“I don’t know, just felt like it took about 67 seconds,” said coach McGuff, relieved following the victory.”
The 81-79 win is important, and the defensive stand is something to celebrate, but as is the life of an athlete, especially in a day-after-day tournament, the successes are immediately forgotten. Instead, the focus shifts to the next steep challenge for the Buckeyes: Try to beat the Indiana Hoosiers.
“Yeah, definitely going into this next game we’re going to have a lot more energy,” said Thierry. “We won this game, that’s great, but we’re moving on to the next because the most important game is the next one.”
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State men’s basketball vs Michigan State: Game preview and prediction
- News
- 0 Replies
Ohio State men’s basketball vs Michigan State: Game preview and prediction
justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Joseph Scheller/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Can the Buckeyes finish a disappointing season with a strong win?
It has been a long year for the Ohio State men’s basketball team, and on Saturday at noon the regular season comes to an end. The Buckeyes enter their final regular season game at 13-17 overall and 5-14 in the Big Ten. Coming off losing 14 out of 16 games in the year 2023, the Buckeyes are currently on a two-game winning streak after defeating both Illinois and Maryland at home.
Ohio State will head to East Lansing to take on the Michigan State Spartans (18-11, 10-8) — a place the Buckeyes have not won since 2012. They have lost their last eight games at the Breslin Center.
Michigan State is currently a bubble team, so the Buckeyes have a chance to play spoiler for the day. The Spartans are coming off a comeback win at Nebraska, but lost the previous game against Iowa in overtime after blowing a 12-point lead with 85 seconds left in the game.
Ohio State is coming off a big win over Maryland on senior night behind a double-double from Justice Sueing, who scored a team-leading 16 points. This led six Buckeyes who scored in double figures Wednesday night.
It is not an overreaction to say that the first time these two teams met this season was the rock bottom point for the Buckeyes. On Feb. 12, Michigan State beat Ohio State 62-41 in Columbus and led the Buckeyes 27-14 at the half. It was one of the worst offensive performances from the Buckeyes in recent memory, and was a game they were simply never competitive in.
They will look to correct that memory on Saturday.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24477819/usa_today_20131671.jpg "Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch")
Joseph Scheller/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Michigan State is fairly balanced offensively, with former transfers Tyson Walker (Northeastern) and Joey Hauser (Marquette) leading the way. Hauser is averaging 14.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting 44.8 percent from three-point range, and Walker is averaging 14.8 points while shooting 43.4 percent from three-point range. A.J. Hoggard is averaging 12.2 points, 6.1 assists per game and 3.8 rebounds per game.
Guard Jaden Akins has come on strong as of late, and is averaging 9.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest, while Malik Hall is averaging 9.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
For the Buckeyes, freshman Brice Sensabaugh has been leading the team in scoring all season, averaging 16.4 points and 5.2 boards. Justice Sueing is second on the team with 12.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Sueing is coming off his first double-double of the season against Maryland.
Sean McNeil and freshman point guard Bruce Thornton are both averaging 9.6 points per game. Thornton is averaging 16.1 points per game over his last three games. Ohio State starting center Zed Key is out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery earlier this week.
The Buckeyes have shown more of a pulse on the offensive and defensive end of the ball lately, and if they can keep that energy alive in this contest, it should be a much more competitive game.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24477820/usa_today_20120846.jpg "Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch")
Joseph Scheller/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Ohio State is not playing for an NCAA Tournament berth or for anything in terms of seeding, but they are still playing with a purpose. This is a fairly young team that is only losing three players to graduation (Sueing, Likekele and McNeil). Sensabaugh could choose to enter the draft, and the Buckeyes may lose one or two players to transfer, but they are bringing back a solid core of players to the 2023-24 team.
Right now, the Buckeyes are playing with confidence that they have not had since December. Even if they can win this game against Michigan State and end the season on a three-game winning streak, it doesn’t change the fact it has been a disappointing season.
However, it does help this young team to get some confidence heading into the offseason and help them learn how to win. The Buckeyes will presumably start four freshman again today (Sensabaugh, Roddy Gayle, Thornton, and Felix Okpara) and they will all play significant minutes barring any foul trouble.
I think the Buckeyes lose a close one. Ultimately, when you play at a place like the Breslin Center and against Tom Izzo in March, you have to vastly outperform a team to beat them. I think it will be a close game with Michigan State making more plays at the end of the game to win it. But another solid performance from the Buckeyes to end the season and head into Chicago.
ESPN BPI: 67.5% Michigan State
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Continue reading...
justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Joseph Scheller/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Can the Buckeyes finish a disappointing season with a strong win?
It has been a long year for the Ohio State men’s basketball team, and on Saturday at noon the regular season comes to an end. The Buckeyes enter their final regular season game at 13-17 overall and 5-14 in the Big Ten. Coming off losing 14 out of 16 games in the year 2023, the Buckeyes are currently on a two-game winning streak after defeating both Illinois and Maryland at home.
Ohio State will head to East Lansing to take on the Michigan State Spartans (18-11, 10-8) — a place the Buckeyes have not won since 2012. They have lost their last eight games at the Breslin Center.
Michigan State is currently a bubble team, so the Buckeyes have a chance to play spoiler for the day. The Spartans are coming off a comeback win at Nebraska, but lost the previous game against Iowa in overtime after blowing a 12-point lead with 85 seconds left in the game.
Ohio State is coming off a big win over Maryland on senior night behind a double-double from Justice Sueing, who scored a team-leading 16 points. This led six Buckeyes who scored in double figures Wednesday night.
It is not an overreaction to say that the first time these two teams met this season was the rock bottom point for the Buckeyes. On Feb. 12, Michigan State beat Ohio State 62-41 in Columbus and led the Buckeyes 27-14 at the half. It was one of the worst offensive performances from the Buckeyes in recent memory, and was a game they were simply never competitive in.
They will look to correct that memory on Saturday.
Preview
Michigan State is fairly balanced offensively, with former transfers Tyson Walker (Northeastern) and Joey Hauser (Marquette) leading the way. Hauser is averaging 14.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting 44.8 percent from three-point range, and Walker is averaging 14.8 points while shooting 43.4 percent from three-point range. A.J. Hoggard is averaging 12.2 points, 6.1 assists per game and 3.8 rebounds per game.
Guard Jaden Akins has come on strong as of late, and is averaging 9.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest, while Malik Hall is averaging 9.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
For the Buckeyes, freshman Brice Sensabaugh has been leading the team in scoring all season, averaging 16.4 points and 5.2 boards. Justice Sueing is second on the team with 12.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Sueing is coming off his first double-double of the season against Maryland.
Sean McNeil and freshman point guard Bruce Thornton are both averaging 9.6 points per game. Thornton is averaging 16.1 points per game over his last three games. Ohio State starting center Zed Key is out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery earlier this week.
The Buckeyes have shown more of a pulse on the offensive and defensive end of the ball lately, and if they can keep that energy alive in this contest, it should be a much more competitive game.
Prediction
Ohio State is not playing for an NCAA Tournament berth or for anything in terms of seeding, but they are still playing with a purpose. This is a fairly young team that is only losing three players to graduation (Sueing, Likekele and McNeil). Sensabaugh could choose to enter the draft, and the Buckeyes may lose one or two players to transfer, but they are bringing back a solid core of players to the 2023-24 team.
Right now, the Buckeyes are playing with confidence that they have not had since December. Even if they can win this game against Michigan State and end the season on a three-game winning streak, it doesn’t change the fact it has been a disappointing season.
However, it does help this young team to get some confidence heading into the offseason and help them learn how to win. The Buckeyes will presumably start four freshman again today (Sensabaugh, Roddy Gayle, Thornton, and Felix Okpara) and they will all play significant minutes barring any foul trouble.
I think the Buckeyes lose a close one. Ultimately, when you play at a place like the Breslin Center and against Tom Izzo in March, you have to vastly outperform a team to beat them. I think it will be a close game with Michigan State making more plays at the end of the game to win it. But another solid performance from the Buckeyes to end the season and head into Chicago.
ESPN BPI: 67.5% Michigan State
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
LGHL score prediction: Michigan State 74, Ohio State 68
Continue reading...
LGHL Cotie McMahon doing things Ohio State hasn’t seen in a long time
- News
- 0 Replies
Cotie McMahon doing things Ohio State hasn’t seen in a long time
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images
How the freshman played her best game of the season on her largest collegiate stage, so far
Sometimes in the world of sports, there are superstitions surrounding winning awards and tough performances that sometimes follow. Well, Ohio State women’s basketball forward Cotie McMahon, that trend was bucked in a big way. Here’s how the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and All-B1G Second Team member, did things on the court that impressed even her own coach.
McMahon’s impressive game in the 81-79 Ohio State quarterfinals victory over the Wolverines began early in the first quarter. With the Buckeyes up 3-2 early on, McMahon gave a clue as to how the game would go for her over the next four quarters. It was a simple enough play.
The freshman went up for a layup, missed it, but stayed with the play. McMahon grabbed the offensive rebound and hit both free throws as she was fouled on a follow up attempt. It was the first rebound of 12 and first points of 26, her second double-double of the season.
It wasn’t the highest scoring game of McMahon’s young career, that came against the USF Bulls where she hit 30 points on Dec. 20. No, but it was the most complete game McMahon’s had all season.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen somebody that young play so hard,” said head coach Kevin McGuff. “She competes on every possession.”
Buckeye fans saw that “every possession” mentality in the last game against the Michigan Wolverines on Feb. 20. Even though the freshman was mostly stifled on the night, and not getting whistles to go her way when attacking the paint, the freshman came into the fourth quarter with four fouls and it didn’t deter her.
Scoring only two points up until the last five minutes, McMahon had five in the final five minutes, including two rebounds and three assists in Ohio State’s 74-61 win. Friday night, against Michigan in the tournament, there wasn’t much stifling of the freshman.
McMahon led Ohio State with 11 points in the first quarter, including a wide open three-point shot where Michigan dared her to shoot and she satisfied the terms of the dare.
In the remaining 15 points over the next 30 minutes, McMahon pummeled the basket. In the third quarter, two of those attempts were some of the best she’s had in her first season. The first came as McMahon was about to hit the court, off a foul, and hit a diving layup and the free throw.
Then, on the very next offensive possession, McMahon spun through two defenders, hitting a layup.
The Centerville, Ohio forward was asked about her offensive prowess on the day, going in a different direction than expected; typical Cotie McMahon.
“For me, really offense wasn’t my main focus. It was defense,” said McMahon. “I feel like you take care of the defensive end and your offense will take care of itself, and it did.”
In the second half especially, McMahon made game-defining defensive plays. The first came with the Buckeyes down a point with 3:40 remaining in the game. McMahon anticipated a pass near the scorer’s table and was off to the races, exemplifying what McGuff calls “the most exciting five seconds in college basketball.”
McMahon ran the half length of the court remaining and hit a layup to put the Buckeyes up by one. She followed it with two free throws on another attack of the basket. Michigan tied the game twice after that, but never got back into the lead and with less than 10 seconds remaining, McMahon made sure of it.
Michigan was down two points, and guard Elise Stuck took the ball baseline for a layup. McMahon swatted the ball away. The rest of the team provided good defense after that block to hold onto the win.
Now, the Buckeyes have an even bigger game, giving McMahon and her teammates another stage for performing. This time against the Indiana Hoosiers, with McMahon telling the Big Ten commentary desk that “it’s personal.” It’s the next, but definitely not the last time McMahon will show the country what she’s about.
“You can see she loves to play,” said McGuff. “She loves to play with her teammates. Just a great kid to coach. Really excited about what the future holds for her.”
Continue reading...
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images
How the freshman played her best game of the season on her largest collegiate stage, so far
Sometimes in the world of sports, there are superstitions surrounding winning awards and tough performances that sometimes follow. Well, Ohio State women’s basketball forward Cotie McMahon, that trend was bucked in a big way. Here’s how the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and All-B1G Second Team member, did things on the court that impressed even her own coach.
McMahon’s impressive game in the 81-79 Ohio State quarterfinals victory over the Wolverines began early in the first quarter. With the Buckeyes up 3-2 early on, McMahon gave a clue as to how the game would go for her over the next four quarters. It was a simple enough play.
The freshman went up for a layup, missed it, but stayed with the play. McMahon grabbed the offensive rebound and hit both free throws as she was fouled on a follow up attempt. It was the first rebound of 12 and first points of 26, her second double-double of the season.
It wasn’t the highest scoring game of McMahon’s young career, that came against the USF Bulls where she hit 30 points on Dec. 20. No, but it was the most complete game McMahon’s had all season.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen somebody that young play so hard,” said head coach Kevin McGuff. “She competes on every possession.”
Buckeye fans saw that “every possession” mentality in the last game against the Michigan Wolverines on Feb. 20. Even though the freshman was mostly stifled on the night, and not getting whistles to go her way when attacking the paint, the freshman came into the fourth quarter with four fouls and it didn’t deter her.
Scoring only two points up until the last five minutes, McMahon had five in the final five minutes, including two rebounds and three assists in Ohio State’s 74-61 win. Friday night, against Michigan in the tournament, there wasn’t much stifling of the freshman.
McMahon led Ohio State with 11 points in the first quarter, including a wide open three-point shot where Michigan dared her to shoot and she satisfied the terms of the dare.
In the remaining 15 points over the next 30 minutes, McMahon pummeled the basket. In the third quarter, two of those attempts were some of the best she’s had in her first season. The first came as McMahon was about to hit the court, off a foul, and hit a diving layup and the free throw.
Q3 | AND-ONE@cotiemcmahon23 #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/5SM0DOyP6Y
— Ohio State WBB (@OhioStateWBB) March 3, 2023
Then, on the very next offensive possession, McMahon spun through two defenders, hitting a layup.
The Centerville, Ohio forward was asked about her offensive prowess on the day, going in a different direction than expected; typical Cotie McMahon.
“For me, really offense wasn’t my main focus. It was defense,” said McMahon. “I feel like you take care of the defensive end and your offense will take care of itself, and it did.”
In the second half especially, McMahon made game-defining defensive plays. The first came with the Buckeyes down a point with 3:40 remaining in the game. McMahon anticipated a pass near the scorer’s table and was off to the races, exemplifying what McGuff calls “the most exciting five seconds in college basketball.”
McMahon ran the half length of the court remaining and hit a layup to put the Buckeyes up by one. She followed it with two free throws on another attack of the basket. Michigan tied the game twice after that, but never got back into the lead and with less than 10 seconds remaining, McMahon made sure of it.
Michigan was down two points, and guard Elise Stuck took the ball baseline for a layup. McMahon swatted the ball away. The rest of the team provided good defense after that block to hold onto the win.
Now, the Buckeyes have an even bigger game, giving McMahon and her teammates another stage for performing. This time against the Indiana Hoosiers, with McMahon telling the Big Ten commentary desk that “it’s personal.” It’s the next, but definitely not the last time McMahon will show the country what she’s about.
“You can see she loves to play,” said McGuff. “She loves to play with her teammates. Just a great kid to coach. Really excited about what the future holds for her.”
Continue reading...
LGHL Jacy Sheldon’s impact in return against Michigan
- News
- 0 Replies
Jacy Sheldon’s impact in return against Michigan
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
The Buckeye didn’t light up the stat sheet Friday, but her impact in all facets of the game can’t be ignored, especially with Indiana looming
After seemingly weeks at week-to-week or day-to-day injury status for Ohio State women’s basketball guard Jacy Sheldon, the Dublin, Ohio native returned Friday against the Michigan Wolverines. While Sheldon’s minutes were limited, her impact on the Buckeyes was anything but limited.
For months, Sheldon’s absence with a lower leg injury, later narrowed down to a foot injury by head coach Kevin McGuff, kept the 2021-22 unanimous All-B1G First Team guard out of action. During that time, Sheldon was touted for her work off the court, including supporting her teammates, being an extra eye for her teammates on the sideline and generally filling into the role of another assistant coach.
All of those are great things to have in a player, but Sheldon’s impact is better felt on the court. Her teammates agree.
“My gosh, it was such a huge help, honestly,” said guard/forward Taylor Thierry. “She’s an amazing player offensively. Defensively she adds that energy we really need, and she really keeps us focused and connected.”
Although the stats won’t jump out compared to games by Thierry or forward Cotie McMahon, Sheldon made the most of her limited minutes on the court.
In 13 minutes, Sheldon had the second strongest +/- of the game for Ohio State with 10, surpassed only by fellow substitute, forward Rebeka Mikulášiková. When Sheldon was on the court, the Buckeyes were just better.
“We play a little faster with her in the game,” said McGuff. “When we press, we’re significantly better with her in there.”
Sheldon had one steal in the game but overall was pressuring the toughest Wolverines on the court. Take guard Leigha Brown for example. The leading scorer for Michigan had 19 points, compared to 36 against Ohio State on Feb. 20. When in the game, it was Sheldon pressuring the guard.
Also, when guard Rikki Harris left the game with 1:38 left, with a potential injury that McGuff and the Buckeyes didn’t know the status of following the game, Sheldon stepped into the pressure moment.
It’s not exactly new for Sheldon, being in those moments, but the guard hasn’t been in one since Nov. 30 against the Louisville Cardinals. The lone game she’s played since that Buckeyes win in the ACC/B1G Challenge was a 36-point drubbing at the hands of the Maryland Terrapins on Feb. 5.
In the fourth quarter on Friday, with the game tied at 76-76, Sheldon had a game changing play. With 1:22 remaining, the guard had the ball, fulfilling her point guard duty of looking to run a play. After dribbling for two seconds, Sheldon composed herself and hit a monster triple on her own with Thierry setting a successful screen.
Guard Taylor Mikesell followed it up with a layup and those five points were the last Ohio State needed in the 81-79 victory.
Now, Sheldon has the chance on Saturday to do something she hasn’t done all season: Face the Indiana Hoosiers. Ohio State’s been without the star guard in both defeats, resulting in a slightly slower Buckeyes side. Saturday could be different, with no set minutes restriction.
“We’re trying to just like limit the long stretches that she plays, but it’s not really a specific number,” said McGuff. “Because if it was up to her, it would be 40. Tomorrow you might see us fighting over there on the sidelines, so you might see her trying to put herself in.”
Continue reading...
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
The Buckeye didn’t light up the stat sheet Friday, but her impact in all facets of the game can’t be ignored, especially with Indiana looming
After seemingly weeks at week-to-week or day-to-day injury status for Ohio State women’s basketball guard Jacy Sheldon, the Dublin, Ohio native returned Friday against the Michigan Wolverines. While Sheldon’s minutes were limited, her impact on the Buckeyes was anything but limited.
For months, Sheldon’s absence with a lower leg injury, later narrowed down to a foot injury by head coach Kevin McGuff, kept the 2021-22 unanimous All-B1G First Team guard out of action. During that time, Sheldon was touted for her work off the court, including supporting her teammates, being an extra eye for her teammates on the sideline and generally filling into the role of another assistant coach.
All of those are great things to have in a player, but Sheldon’s impact is better felt on the court. Her teammates agree.
“My gosh, it was such a huge help, honestly,” said guard/forward Taylor Thierry. “She’s an amazing player offensively. Defensively she adds that energy we really need, and she really keeps us focused and connected.”
Although the stats won’t jump out compared to games by Thierry or forward Cotie McMahon, Sheldon made the most of her limited minutes on the court.
In 13 minutes, Sheldon had the second strongest +/- of the game for Ohio State with 10, surpassed only by fellow substitute, forward Rebeka Mikulášiková. When Sheldon was on the court, the Buckeyes were just better.
“We play a little faster with her in the game,” said McGuff. “When we press, we’re significantly better with her in there.”
Sheldon had one steal in the game but overall was pressuring the toughest Wolverines on the court. Take guard Leigha Brown for example. The leading scorer for Michigan had 19 points, compared to 36 against Ohio State on Feb. 20. When in the game, it was Sheldon pressuring the guard.
Also, when guard Rikki Harris left the game with 1:38 left, with a potential injury that McGuff and the Buckeyes didn’t know the status of following the game, Sheldon stepped into the pressure moment.
It’s not exactly new for Sheldon, being in those moments, but the guard hasn’t been in one since Nov. 30 against the Louisville Cardinals. The lone game she’s played since that Buckeyes win in the ACC/B1G Challenge was a 36-point drubbing at the hands of the Maryland Terrapins on Feb. 5.
In the fourth quarter on Friday, with the game tied at 76-76, Sheldon had a game changing play. With 1:22 remaining, the guard had the ball, fulfilling her point guard duty of looking to run a play. After dribbling for two seconds, Sheldon composed herself and hit a monster triple on her own with Thierry setting a successful screen.
Guard Taylor Mikesell followed it up with a layup and those five points were the last Ohio State needed in the 81-79 victory.
Now, Sheldon has the chance on Saturday to do something she hasn’t done all season: Face the Indiana Hoosiers. Ohio State’s been without the star guard in both defeats, resulting in a slightly slower Buckeyes side. Saturday could be different, with no set minutes restriction.
“We’re trying to just like limit the long stretches that she plays, but it’s not really a specific number,” said McGuff. “Because if it was up to her, it would be 40. Tomorrow you might see us fighting over there on the sidelines, so you might see her trying to put herself in.”
Continue reading...