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2026 College Football Playoff Discussion
- By ScriptOhio
- College Football
- 27 Replies
Just sayin': Apparently there is discussion by the B1G and SEC for both conferences to each have 4 automatic qualifiers in the CFPs starting in 2026.
sports.yahoo.com
The SEC and Big Ten are scheduled to hold a second joint meeting of their athletic directors next month, where conference leaders are expected to deeply explore the future of the College Football Playoff format.
The meeting — set for Feb. 19 in New Orleans — comes a week before CFP commissioners meet in Dallas to discuss the future of the playoff, its format and governance structure. Those with knowledge of the meeting spoke to Yahoo Sports under condition of anonymity.
The SEC's and Big Ten’s gathering marks a second step in the budding relationship between two leagues that announced a partnership last spring. Their athletic directors met in Nashville in October, a historic event and one of the first gatherings of two major conference administrators in recent NCAA history.
The Feb. 19 meeting is expected to focus on CFP format and governance as well as the transition into a post-settlement world with athlete revenue sharing. The NCAA and power leagues’ landmark settlement of the House case is up for approval in April and implementation in July.
But perhaps the most interesting topic is the expanded playoff’s future format.
As part of an agreement struck last spring, the Big Ten and SEC believe they have authority over any change to the playoff format starting with the 2026 postseason, the first of a new six-year extension of the CFP. Changes for the 2025 playoff — unlikely at this point — require unanimity among the 10 FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director.
While executives agreed on a future revenue distribution model last spring — weighted heavily for the SEC and Big Ten — a future format was not finalized. But certain “protections” were agreed upon, including an automatic spot for the five highest-ranked conference champions; a 12- or 14-team field; and qualification guarantees for independents like Notre Dame related to their place in the rankings.
The format is a divisive topic at times.
Many expect the Big Ten — and perhaps the SEC too this time — will again propose a format that assigns multiple automatic qualifiers to single conferences.
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continued
sports.yahoo.com
Last spring, during intense and, at times, heated negotiations over the future of the College Football Playoff, leaders of the Big Ten and SEC threatened to create their own postseason system if they were not granted a majority of CFP revenue and full authority over the playoff format.
In the end, executives of the 10 FBS leagues and Notre Dame signed a memorandum of understanding handing control over to college football’s two richest conferences.
Soon, they are expected to exercise that control.
Within the SEC and Big Ten, momentum is building to further expand the playoff to 14 or 16 teams, assign multiple automatic qualifiers per league — as many as four each for themselves — and finalize a scheduling arrangement together that may fetch millions in additional revenue from TV partners, sources told Yahoo Sports.
The playoff format change would clear the way for SEC administrators to, finally, make the long-discussed move to play nine regular-season conference games and would trigger, perhaps, all four power leagues to overhaul their conference championship weekend.
These ideas and concepts, previously reported by Yahoo Sports as possibilities, are now serious agenda items within the highest governing bodies of the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC, according to officials from each of those leagues. The 11 members of the CFP Management Committee — the 10 FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director — were contacted for this story, many of them confirming the existence of these potential ideas but declining specific comment on the matter.
Final decisions are expected in the coming weeks.
SEC and Big Ten athletic directors will meet Wednesday in New Orleans for the second time in the last five months. Big 12 athletic directors are expected to discuss the future playoff format at meetings this week, and ACC athletic directors, as well as the presidents, met last week in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The CFP Management Committee is scheduled to meet Feb. 25 in Dallas, where the SEC and Big Ten could present ideas for a future format — a consensus recommendation the two leagues may establish this week in New Orleans.
The agreement grants the leagues decision-making powers over the format but directs them to have “meaningful consultation” and collect “input” from the other conferences before making their decision.
Leaders in each conference have spent the last several weeks evolving a format idea — multiple automatic qualifiers per league — into a more realistic proposal. The 14- or 16-team model would grant four automatic qualifiers each to the SEC and Big Ten; two each to the ACC and Big 12; and one to the highest-ranked Group of Five champion. It includes one or three at-large spots, one of those intended for Notre Dame if it finishes ranked inside the top 14 — a guarantee specifically designated for the Irish that is part of the CFP memorandum.
Officials describe the 14-team format as a 4-4-2-2-1+1 model in which the top two seeds receive first-round byes. There would be no byes in a 16-team structure. In either, the CFP selection committee’s role is greatly diminished. The committee, its future — as the memorandum stipulates — also controlled by the SEC and Big Ten, would presumably seed 1 through 14 or 16 based directly on its top-25 rankings.
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Since the 2014 playoff, the SEC has had 52 teams ranked inside the top 14 of the CFP’s rankings heading into conference championship weekend, or about 4.7 teams per year. The Big Ten has had 51 teams (4.6). The Big 12 is next at 23 (2.1), followed by the ACC (20/1.8), Notre Dame (5/0.45) and Group of Five (3/0.27).
The data considers conference realignment shifts (ie: Oklahoma is counted toward the SEC figures, USC for the Big Ten, Stanford for the ACC, Utah for the Big 12, etc.).
Login to view embedded media
CFP executives used similar data points to establish the playoff’s new revenue distribution model that was agreed upon last spring. As part of that memorandum of understanding, the SEC and Big Ten each receive 29% of the revenue, the ACC gets 17.1% while the Big 12 receives 14.7%; the remaining amount will be distributed to Notre Dame (about 1%) and the 64 Group of Five teams (about 9%).
The new revenue distribution model shook the college athletics landscape for its disparities. In the previous revenue structure, the power conferences split evenly 80% of the CFP’s $460 million in annual revenue and the G5 received about 19%. Under the new deal, SEC and Big Ten schools will see their annual distribution triple, if not quadruple, to around $23 million (SEC) and $20 million-21 million (Big Ten)......
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continued
Sources: SEC, Big Ten to hold second AD meeting to explore CFP format changes and more
Is a 14-team College Football Playoff with multi-automatic qualifiers per league possible?
sports.yahoo.com
Sources: SEC, Big Ten to hold second AD meeting to explore CFP format changes and more
Is a 14-team College Football Playoff with multi-automatic qualifiers per league possible?
The SEC and Big Ten are scheduled to hold a second joint meeting of their athletic directors next month, where conference leaders are expected to deeply explore the future of the College Football Playoff format.
The meeting — set for Feb. 19 in New Orleans — comes a week before CFP commissioners meet in Dallas to discuss the future of the playoff, its format and governance structure. Those with knowledge of the meeting spoke to Yahoo Sports under condition of anonymity.
The SEC's and Big Ten’s gathering marks a second step in the budding relationship between two leagues that announced a partnership last spring. Their athletic directors met in Nashville in October, a historic event and one of the first gatherings of two major conference administrators in recent NCAA history.
The Feb. 19 meeting is expected to focus on CFP format and governance as well as the transition into a post-settlement world with athlete revenue sharing. The NCAA and power leagues’ landmark settlement of the House case is up for approval in April and implementation in July.
But perhaps the most interesting topic is the expanded playoff’s future format.
As part of an agreement struck last spring, the Big Ten and SEC believe they have authority over any change to the playoff format starting with the 2026 postseason, the first of a new six-year extension of the CFP. Changes for the 2025 playoff — unlikely at this point — require unanimity among the 10 FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director.
While executives agreed on a future revenue distribution model last spring — weighted heavily for the SEC and Big Ten — a future format was not finalized. But certain “protections” were agreed upon, including an automatic spot for the five highest-ranked conference champions; a 12- or 14-team field; and qualification guarantees for independents like Notre Dame related to their place in the rankings.
The format is a divisive topic at times.
Many expect the Big Ten — and perhaps the SEC too this time — will again propose a format that assigns multiple automatic qualifiers to single conferences.
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continued
Sources: SEC, Big Ten building momentum to further expand College Football Playoff to 14 or 16 teams
The conferences are pushing to assign multiple automatic qualifiers per league, with as many as four each for themselves. In short, a plethora of changes are on the table.
sports.yahoo.com
Big Ten and SEC Discussing Possibility of 16-Team College Football Playoff, Regular-Season Scheduling Agreement
Last spring, during intense and, at times, heated negotiations over the future of the College Football Playoff, leaders of the Big Ten and SEC threatened to create their own postseason system if they were not granted a majority of CFP revenue and full authority over the playoff format.
In the end, executives of the 10 FBS leagues and Notre Dame signed a memorandum of understanding handing control over to college football’s two richest conferences.
Soon, they are expected to exercise that control.
Within the SEC and Big Ten, momentum is building to further expand the playoff to 14 or 16 teams, assign multiple automatic qualifiers per league — as many as four each for themselves — and finalize a scheduling arrangement together that may fetch millions in additional revenue from TV partners, sources told Yahoo Sports.
The playoff format change would clear the way for SEC administrators to, finally, make the long-discussed move to play nine regular-season conference games and would trigger, perhaps, all four power leagues to overhaul their conference championship weekend.
These ideas and concepts, previously reported by Yahoo Sports as possibilities, are now serious agenda items within the highest governing bodies of the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC, according to officials from each of those leagues. The 11 members of the CFP Management Committee — the 10 FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director — were contacted for this story, many of them confirming the existence of these potential ideas but declining specific comment on the matter.
Final decisions are expected in the coming weeks.
SEC and Big Ten athletic directors will meet Wednesday in New Orleans for the second time in the last five months. Big 12 athletic directors are expected to discuss the future playoff format at meetings this week, and ACC athletic directors, as well as the presidents, met last week in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The CFP Management Committee is scheduled to meet Feb. 25 in Dallas, where the SEC and Big Ten could present ideas for a future format — a consensus recommendation the two leagues may establish this week in New Orleans.
SEC's, Big Ten’s control and possible proposal
According to most who have viewed the memorandum of understanding from last spring, the SEC and Big Ten hold sole discretion on the future CFP format starting in 2026, the beginning of the CFP’s new six-year television agreement with ESPN that runs through the 2031 playoff.....
The agreement grants the leagues decision-making powers over the format but directs them to have “meaningful consultation” and collect “input” from the other conferences before making their decision.
Leaders in each conference have spent the last several weeks evolving a format idea — multiple automatic qualifiers per league — into a more realistic proposal. The 14- or 16-team model would grant four automatic qualifiers each to the SEC and Big Ten; two each to the ACC and Big 12; and one to the highest-ranked Group of Five champion. It includes one or three at-large spots, one of those intended for Notre Dame if it finishes ranked inside the top 14 — a guarantee specifically designated for the Irish that is part of the CFP memorandum.
Officials describe the 14-team format as a 4-4-2-2-1+1 model in which the top two seeds receive first-round byes. There would be no byes in a 16-team structure. In either, the CFP selection committee’s role is greatly diminished. The committee, its future — as the memorandum stipulates — also controlled by the SEC and Big Ten, would presumably seed 1 through 14 or 16 based directly on its top-25 rankings.
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continued
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The data and revenue
The 14-team model — 4-4-2-2-1+1 — aligns mostly with conference strength over the last 11 years of the CFP’s existence, according to data compiled by Yahoo Sports.Since the 2014 playoff, the SEC has had 52 teams ranked inside the top 14 of the CFP’s rankings heading into conference championship weekend, or about 4.7 teams per year. The Big Ten has had 51 teams (4.6). The Big 12 is next at 23 (2.1), followed by the ACC (20/1.8), Notre Dame (5/0.45) and Group of Five (3/0.27).
The data considers conference realignment shifts (ie: Oklahoma is counted toward the SEC figures, USC for the Big Ten, Stanford for the ACC, Utah for the Big 12, etc.).
Login to view embedded media
CFP executives used similar data points to establish the playoff’s new revenue distribution model that was agreed upon last spring. As part of that memorandum of understanding, the SEC and Big Ten each receive 29% of the revenue, the ACC gets 17.1% while the Big 12 receives 14.7%; the remaining amount will be distributed to Notre Dame (about 1%) and the 64 Group of Five teams (about 9%).
The new revenue distribution model shook the college athletics landscape for its disparities. In the previous revenue structure, the power conferences split evenly 80% of the CFP’s $460 million in annual revenue and the G5 received about 19%. Under the new deal, SEC and Big Ten schools will see their annual distribution triple, if not quadruple, to around $23 million (SEC) and $20 million-21 million (Big Ten)......
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continued
2026 AR OL Evan Goodwin (SMU Signee)
- By pnuts34
- Football Recruiting
- 17 Replies
247
Rivals
Twitter
HudL
Class: 2026
School: Bauxite(AR) Bauxite
Position: IOL
Height: 6-foot-7
Weight: 320lbs
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Rivals
HudL
Class: 2026
School: Bauxite(AR) Bauxite
Position: IOL
Height: 6-foot-7
Weight: 320lbs
Login to view embedded media
LGHL Ohio State women give up late double-digit lead, but beat Iowa in overtime 86-78
- News
- 0 Replies
Ohio State women give up late double-digit lead, but beat Iowa in overtime 86-78
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 Jason Mowry/Getty Images
Despite being up 12 with 1:38 left in regulation, the Buckeyes allowed Iowa to send the game to overtime.
No. 8 Ohio State women’s basketball (22-3, 11-3) renewed their rivalry with the Iowa Hawkeyes (18-8, 8-7) on Monday afternoon but the Buckeyes didn’t make it easy for the second straight game. The Scarlet and Gray blew a 12-point lead with 1:38 remaining, but Jaloni Cambridge scored six points in overtime to lead the Buckeyes over the Hawkeyes 86-78.
A criticism of the women’s basketball Buckeyes this season has been that they have not always turned in complete performances. Ohio State has seemed to take a quarter off here and there, much to the chagrin of head coach Kevin McGuff and team leaders like junior forward Cotie McMahon.
In the first half against Iowa, the Buckeyes played a complete 20 minutes with nobody in the arena knowing the score with the scoreboard down in the Schottenstein Center. It put the crowd in the same position as the players who famously are known for not paying attention to the score. Whether that’s believed or not, Ohio State fans had to find out how it worked themselves.
Freshman guard Jaloni Cambridge and McMahon got Ohio State going early, scoring the first 10 points of the game for the home side. Defensively, the concern for the Scarlet and Gray was the play of Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke but the Buckeyes were up for the challenge, holding the junior to six first-half points on 3-of-7 shooting with the play of forward Ajae Petty and center Elsa Lemmilä.
For Petty, the graduate senior had a promising start, picking up four quick rebounds and an assist, but suffered from foul issues and played six minutes with three fouls.
Lemmilä picked up where Petty left off and then some. The 6-foot-6 center played 14 minutes of the half, and forced tough inside shots for Stuelke, with Lemmilä blocking the Iowa forward from behind on one drive. On offense, the center also decided her hand at deep threes, something that McGuff wants for the freshman in her trajectory as a Buckeye.
Cambridge led all scorers in the first half with 13 points, starting off quickly with nine points in the first quarter. Older sister Kennedy Cambridge followed her sister’s lead and went 2-of-2 from beyond the arc in the first half plus a layup that the phrase “circus layup” doesn’t do it nearly enough justice.
The redshirt sophomore went to the basket and got tripped up. As Cambridge went to the ground, her body turned and the guard threw the ball up in the air and it went cleanly inside the basket. Cambridge followed it with a free throw for nine points in the half. The Cambridge sisters combined for 22 of Ohio State’s 34 points and the Buckeyes took a 34-21 lead into the halftime locker room.
In the second half, the interior defense that was so strong in the first half stumbled at the start of the third quarter, with Stuelke and graduate senior Lucy Olsen each getting to the rim with relative ease, trimming the Buckeye lead to eight points after just over three minutes of the quarter.
Iowa’s run continued through an early Buckeyes timeout and halfway through the third the lead shrunk to five points with five minutes remaining. Of the Hawkeyes’ 14 points, eight came inside the paint. Offensively, Ohio State went 2-of-8 from the field, with two misses coming from beyond the arc.
Coach McGuff changed course and began going to the basket. The Buckeyes scored six of the next eight points to bring their lead near double-digits. Ohio State’s defense held the Hawkeyes to no points in over four minutes of game clock.
Key in the run were Cambridge and McMahon, picking up the game where it started and scoring nine of Ohio State’s last 11 points. McMahon especially picked up intensity near the end of the third quarter with plays at the rim. After hitting two free throws, McMahon went to the basket but missed the layup.
McMahon kept up with the play and got her own offensive rebound, hit a second-chance layup, and got hit on the shot. It put McMahon at a different level of intensity, stomping her foot and yelling in excitement.
Iowa responded with a layup, cutting the deficit to seven points to start the fourth quarter and keeping the pressure going into the fourth quarter. The Hawkeyes started the quarter scoring seven of the first nine points and it cut the lead to a single possession.
McMahon again came to Ohio State’s rescue. First, it was another run into the paint for a contested layup. Then it was a forced turnover on defense, with McMahon timing a dribble, poking the ball away,y and running the fast break alone to hit a layup that put the Buckeyes back up six points with 6:52 remaining in the game.
With five minutes remaining, and Ohio State up five points, McGuff took out his starting shooting guard Chance Gray for Kennedy Cambridge. The redshirt sophomore and freshman Lemmilä, who started the fourth quarter and through the end of the game, showed McGuff’s preferred five players in the pressure situation.
Both Kennedy Cambridge and Lemmilä heightened the Scarlet and Gray defense and Iowa went on a scoreless run of nearly three minutes, ended by an impressive contested layup by Kylie Feuerbach, who had 12 points in the second half before fouling out with 57 seconds remaining. Iowa’s cold spell led to a six-point run for Ohio State, building up a nine-point lead with 3:51 remaining.
Ohio State became too much for the Hawkeyes to handle late in the fourth, going 7-of-9 in the final 7:09 of the game. Continued pressure from McMahon and Kennedy Cambridge extended the lead to 12 points, forcing a timeout from head coach Jan Jensen and Iowa.
The Hawkeyes began focusing on deep shooting in the final minute to trim down the lead, and with missed Buckeye free throws late in the quarter, Iowa stayed in the game.
Then, with Ohio State up five points, Kennedy Cambridge inbounded a pass directly to the Hawkeyes who missed a three-point shot by Olsen but ended in three points from guard Sydney Affolter who hit a layup and free throw to cut the Buckeye lead to one point with 16.1 seconds remaining.
The Scarlet and Gray got the inbound pass off barely, with McMahon catching the pass and immediately getting fouled. The junior made the first but missed the second, giving the Buckeyes a two-point lead with 13.8 seconds remaining. On the rebound off of the missed free throw, the refs needed to review who the ball went out off, ending in possession given to the visitors with a chance to either tie or win the game.
On the drive, Ohio State used their last foul to give but on the next inbound, McMahon fouled Olsen who hit both to send the game into overtime. On the Ohio State inbound from the free throws, it looked like the Buckeyes didn’t know how much time was left, with Taylor Thierry dribbling for a few seconds and then throwing up a half-court shot two seconds after the buzzer went off.
In overtime, the Buckeyes offense struggled to get going, missing their first three shots of the extra period but Iowa didn’t do much better, making their first and following it up with two misses.
Then Jaloni Cambridge hit a basket to put the home side in the lead by a point. The freshman went into the paint, stopped, and hit a midrange floater. On the next defensive possession, Ohio State forced a shot clock violation and with 1:30 remaining the Buckeyes had a slight advantage over the Hawkeyes.
Ohio State got to the free throw line on the next possession, with Jaloni Cambridge hitting both to give the Buckeyes a three-point lead, timely free throw shooting that was missing in the fourth quarter.
Iowa cut the lead to one but then McMahon again went to the floor. The junior attacked the basket for a layup and a chance to make it a four-point game from the free-throw line but missed the opportunity.
On defense, Ohio State forced a rushed three but Iowa picked up the offensive rebound by Teagan Mallegni who went up for the layup but was blocked away by Kennedy Cambridge. The Buckeyes picked up the loose ball and Kennedy Cambridge sent a chest pass half the width of the court to hit Thierry on a fast break to extend the lead to five points.
Kennedy’s sister Jaloni Cambridge hit the next two free throws to put the game on ice and Ohio State won their eighth overtime game in a row and second at home against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
McMahon and Cambridge scored 25 and 29 points, respectively, with the remaining three starters scoring a combined 11 points. Kennedy Cambridge scored 16 points in the win, a new career high for the redshirt sophomore.
Olsen led the Hawkeyes with 27 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter and nine in three-point shots in the last 1:01 of the game. Affolter added 11 points and 15 rebounds. Ohio State held Stuelke to 10 points and five rebounds.
Ohio State is on the road for their next game, playing in their second to last road game of the regular season to face the Indiana Hoosiers on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. ET in a game airing on Peacock. The Hoosiers are up and down this season, adjusting to forward Mackenzie Holmes leaving college for the WNBA. Indiana has a 16-9 record, with an 8-6 record in Big Ten play.
Last season, the Buckeyes defeated the Hoosiers in their lone matchup 74-69, coming back from a five-point deficit at halftime. Ohio State hasn’t won a game in Bloomington since Jan. 28, 2021.
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 Jason Mowry/Getty Images
Despite being up 12 with 1:38 left in regulation, the Buckeyes allowed Iowa to send the game to overtime.
No. 8 Ohio State women’s basketball (22-3, 11-3) renewed their rivalry with the Iowa Hawkeyes (18-8, 8-7) on Monday afternoon but the Buckeyes didn’t make it easy for the second straight game. The Scarlet and Gray blew a 12-point lead with 1:38 remaining, but Jaloni Cambridge scored six points in overtime to lead the Buckeyes over the Hawkeyes 86-78.
A criticism of the women’s basketball Buckeyes this season has been that they have not always turned in complete performances. Ohio State has seemed to take a quarter off here and there, much to the chagrin of head coach Kevin McGuff and team leaders like junior forward Cotie McMahon.
In the first half against Iowa, the Buckeyes played a complete 20 minutes with nobody in the arena knowing the score with the scoreboard down in the Schottenstein Center. It put the crowd in the same position as the players who famously are known for not paying attention to the score. Whether that’s believed or not, Ohio State fans had to find out how it worked themselves.
Freshman guard Jaloni Cambridge and McMahon got Ohio State going early, scoring the first 10 points of the game for the home side. Defensively, the concern for the Scarlet and Gray was the play of Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke but the Buckeyes were up for the challenge, holding the junior to six first-half points on 3-of-7 shooting with the play of forward Ajae Petty and center Elsa Lemmilä.
For Petty, the graduate senior had a promising start, picking up four quick rebounds and an assist, but suffered from foul issues and played six minutes with three fouls.
Lemmilä picked up where Petty left off and then some. The 6-foot-6 center played 14 minutes of the half, and forced tough inside shots for Stuelke, with Lemmilä blocking the Iowa forward from behind on one drive. On offense, the center also decided her hand at deep threes, something that McGuff wants for the freshman in her trajectory as a Buckeye.
Cambridge led all scorers in the first half with 13 points, starting off quickly with nine points in the first quarter. Older sister Kennedy Cambridge followed her sister’s lead and went 2-of-2 from beyond the arc in the first half plus a layup that the phrase “circus layup” doesn’t do it nearly enough justice.
KENNEDY ARE YOU KIDDING
AND ONEEEE#GoBucks | FOX pic.twitter.com/B1geAuUp9J
— Ohio State Women’s Basketball (@OhioStateWBB) February 17, 2025
The redshirt sophomore went to the basket and got tripped up. As Cambridge went to the ground, her body turned and the guard threw the ball up in the air and it went cleanly inside the basket. Cambridge followed it with a free throw for nine points in the half. The Cambridge sisters combined for 22 of Ohio State’s 34 points and the Buckeyes took a 34-21 lead into the halftime locker room.
In the second half, the interior defense that was so strong in the first half stumbled at the start of the third quarter, with Stuelke and graduate senior Lucy Olsen each getting to the rim with relative ease, trimming the Buckeye lead to eight points after just over three minutes of the quarter.
Iowa’s run continued through an early Buckeyes timeout and halfway through the third the lead shrunk to five points with five minutes remaining. Of the Hawkeyes’ 14 points, eight came inside the paint. Offensively, Ohio State went 2-of-8 from the field, with two misses coming from beyond the arc.
Coach McGuff changed course and began going to the basket. The Buckeyes scored six of the next eight points to bring their lead near double-digits. Ohio State’s defense held the Hawkeyes to no points in over four minutes of game clock.
Key in the run were Cambridge and McMahon, picking up the game where it started and scoring nine of Ohio State’s last 11 points. McMahon especially picked up intensity near the end of the third quarter with plays at the rim. After hitting two free throws, McMahon went to the basket but missed the layup.
McMahon kept up with the play and got her own offensive rebound, hit a second-chance layup, and got hit on the shot. It put McMahon at a different level of intensity, stomping her foot and yelling in excitement.
Iowa responded with a layup, cutting the deficit to seven points to start the fourth quarter and keeping the pressure going into the fourth quarter. The Hawkeyes started the quarter scoring seven of the first nine points and it cut the lead to a single possession.
McMahon again came to Ohio State’s rescue. First, it was another run into the paint for a contested layup. Then it was a forced turnover on defense, with McMahon timing a dribble, poking the ball away,y and running the fast break alone to hit a layup that put the Buckeyes back up six points with 6:52 remaining in the game.
COTIE THROUGH CONTACT AND ONE
12 points so far today ️
FOX | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/HxMDO23KSY
— Ohio State Women’s Basketball (@OhioStateWBB) February 17, 2025
With five minutes remaining, and Ohio State up five points, McGuff took out his starting shooting guard Chance Gray for Kennedy Cambridge. The redshirt sophomore and freshman Lemmilä, who started the fourth quarter and through the end of the game, showed McGuff’s preferred five players in the pressure situation.
Both Kennedy Cambridge and Lemmilä heightened the Scarlet and Gray defense and Iowa went on a scoreless run of nearly three minutes, ended by an impressive contested layup by Kylie Feuerbach, who had 12 points in the second half before fouling out with 57 seconds remaining. Iowa’s cold spell led to a six-point run for Ohio State, building up a nine-point lead with 3:51 remaining.
Ohio State became too much for the Hawkeyes to handle late in the fourth, going 7-of-9 in the final 7:09 of the game. Continued pressure from McMahon and Kennedy Cambridge extended the lead to 12 points, forcing a timeout from head coach Jan Jensen and Iowa.
The Hawkeyes began focusing on deep shooting in the final minute to trim down the lead, and with missed Buckeye free throws late in the quarter, Iowa stayed in the game.
Then, with Ohio State up five points, Kennedy Cambridge inbounded a pass directly to the Hawkeyes who missed a three-point shot by Olsen but ended in three points from guard Sydney Affolter who hit a layup and free throw to cut the Buckeye lead to one point with 16.1 seconds remaining.
The Scarlet and Gray got the inbound pass off barely, with McMahon catching the pass and immediately getting fouled. The junior made the first but missed the second, giving the Buckeyes a two-point lead with 13.8 seconds remaining. On the rebound off of the missed free throw, the refs needed to review who the ball went out off, ending in possession given to the visitors with a chance to either tie or win the game.
On the drive, Ohio State used their last foul to give but on the next inbound, McMahon fouled Olsen who hit both to send the game into overtime. On the Ohio State inbound from the free throws, it looked like the Buckeyes didn’t know how much time was left, with Taylor Thierry dribbling for a few seconds and then throwing up a half-court shot two seconds after the buzzer went off.
In overtime, the Buckeyes offense struggled to get going, missing their first three shots of the extra period but Iowa didn’t do much better, making their first and following it up with two misses.
Then Jaloni Cambridge hit a basket to put the home side in the lead by a point. The freshman went into the paint, stopped, and hit a midrange floater. On the next defensive possession, Ohio State forced a shot clock violation and with 1:30 remaining the Buckeyes had a slight advantage over the Hawkeyes.
Ohio State got to the free throw line on the next possession, with Jaloni Cambridge hitting both to give the Buckeyes a three-point lead, timely free throw shooting that was missing in the fourth quarter.
Iowa cut the lead to one but then McMahon again went to the floor. The junior attacked the basket for a layup and a chance to make it a four-point game from the free-throw line but missed the opportunity.
On defense, Ohio State forced a rushed three but Iowa picked up the offensive rebound by Teagan Mallegni who went up for the layup but was blocked away by Kennedy Cambridge. The Buckeyes picked up the loose ball and Kennedy Cambridge sent a chest pass half the width of the court to hit Thierry on a fast break to extend the lead to five points.
Kennedy’s sister Jaloni Cambridge hit the next two free throws to put the game on ice and Ohio State won their eighth overtime game in a row and second at home against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
McMahon and Cambridge scored 25 and 29 points, respectively, with the remaining three starters scoring a combined 11 points. Kennedy Cambridge scored 16 points in the win, a new career high for the redshirt sophomore.
Olsen led the Hawkeyes with 27 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter and nine in three-point shots in the last 1:01 of the game. Affolter added 11 points and 15 rebounds. Ohio State held Stuelke to 10 points and five rebounds.
What’s Next
Ohio State is on the road for their next game, playing in their second to last road game of the regular season to face the Indiana Hoosiers on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. ET in a game airing on Peacock. The Hoosiers are up and down this season, adjusting to forward Mackenzie Holmes leaving college for the WNBA. Indiana has a 16-9 record, with an 8-6 record in Big Ten play.
Last season, the Buckeyes defeated the Hoosiers in their lone matchup 74-69, coming back from a five-point deficit at halftime. Ohio State hasn’t won a game in Bloomington since Jan. 28, 2021.
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LGHL Ohio State vs. Michigan: Five takeaways from a tightly contested hoops game
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Ohio State vs. Michigan: Five takeaways from a tightly contested hoops game
Michael Citro via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
A look at the factors that tipped the scales against the Buckeyes in a battle on the hardwood.
Ohio State battled Big Ten-leading Michigan Sunday at Value City Arena and the result was not what Buckeye fans wanted — an 86-83 home loss. The Buckeyes hung around, led at times, and were competitive all game long. However, many of the same issues continued to plague Ohio State, allowing the Wolverines to escape with a win.
Here are my five takeaways from a loss that could have been an important tournament resume-building win.
Micah Parrish obviously didn’t set out to have his worst game in a long time, but his performance could have drastically altered the outcome of the game. Parrish hit just two of his 11 shots in his 36 minutes on the floor Saturday, including just one of his six from behind the arc. He also missed a third of his six free throws.
Had Ohio State gotten the same Parrish we’ve seen in recent games, the narrow loss could have been a blowout victory.
Former Buckeye Roddy Gayle Jr. ended up with a decent performance overall, but he hasn’t cleaned up some of the maddening issues that plagued him while he was a starter in Columbus. In the first half, he missed one of his two layups, one of two dunks, and one of his first two free throws. He also had a bad turnover.
His numbers ended up OK but inefficient. He made three of nine shots and three of four free throws for nine points. Where he hurt Ohio State was on the glass, as he pulled down eight rebounds. Gayle wasn’t the only one, however, which leads me to my next takeaway...
Ohio State gave up too many easy second-chance points, getting out-rebounded 46-31. Michigan had a 19-12 advantage on offensive boards, and many of those offensive rebounds ended up in easy putbacks for the Wolverine bigs.
Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin combined for 21 rebounds. The visitors outscored Ohio State 21-12 in second-chance points and 46-34 on points in the paint.
Although the Buckeyes outscored the Wolverines from the stripe, 18-13, Ohio State shot at a lower percentage, missing a third of their attempts from the line. This included multiple and-one opportunities that could have changed the end of the game.
Ohio State had a golden opportunity at a late basket trailing by two. Bruce Thornton could have opted to try a winning three-point shot, but instead opted to drive the lane. He was cut off, but he caught a break when his larger defender slipped, giving him room to shoot.
Thornton short-armed his floater, which missed everything, and the game was essentially over. That’s a shot Thornton likely makes more than 90% of the time, and it was unfortunate that he couldn’t send the game to overtime with his attempt. That shot would hardly have been necessary had the Buckeyes hit more of their free throws.
It was also a sour end to the possession, as an apparent hip check that took out John Mobley Jr. went uncalled after 36 fouls had been whistled in the game. It was an odd play on which to swallow the whistle, but that lack of a call wasn’t the reason the team lost.
Mobley still would have had to hit both free throws, and although he is one of the better shooters on the team from the stripe, there are no guarantees.
There were other factors, like a lengthy field goal drought late in the first half that saw Ohio State either taking terrible shots or missing wide open ones. But that’s what I took away from the basketball version of The Game on Sunday.
What stood out to you?
Continue reading...
Michael Citro via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
A look at the factors that tipped the scales against the Buckeyes in a battle on the hardwood.
Ohio State battled Big Ten-leading Michigan Sunday at Value City Arena and the result was not what Buckeye fans wanted — an 86-83 home loss. The Buckeyes hung around, led at times, and were competitive all game long. However, many of the same issues continued to plague Ohio State, allowing the Wolverines to escape with a win.
Here are my five takeaways from a loss that could have been an important tournament resume-building win.
What Happened to Parrish?
Micah Parrish obviously didn’t set out to have his worst game in a long time, but his performance could have drastically altered the outcome of the game. Parrish hit just two of his 11 shots in his 36 minutes on the floor Saturday, including just one of his six from behind the arc. He also missed a third of his six free throws.
Had Ohio State gotten the same Parrish we’ve seen in recent games, the narrow loss could have been a blowout victory.
Gayle Watch
Former Buckeye Roddy Gayle Jr. ended up with a decent performance overall, but he hasn’t cleaned up some of the maddening issues that plagued him while he was a starter in Columbus. In the first half, he missed one of his two layups, one of two dunks, and one of his first two free throws. He also had a bad turnover.
His numbers ended up OK but inefficient. He made three of nine shots and three of four free throws for nine points. Where he hurt Ohio State was on the glass, as he pulled down eight rebounds. Gayle wasn’t the only one, however, which leads me to my next takeaway...
Put a Body on Someone
Ohio State gave up too many easy second-chance points, getting out-rebounded 46-31. Michigan had a 19-12 advantage on offensive boards, and many of those offensive rebounds ended up in easy putbacks for the Wolverine bigs.
Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin combined for 21 rebounds. The visitors outscored Ohio State 21-12 in second-chance points and 46-34 on points in the paint.
Free Throws a Factor (Again)
Although the Buckeyes outscored the Wolverines from the stripe, 18-13, Ohio State shot at a lower percentage, missing a third of their attempts from the line. This included multiple and-one opportunities that could have changed the end of the game.
Oh, Bruce
Ohio State had a golden opportunity at a late basket trailing by two. Bruce Thornton could have opted to try a winning three-point shot, but instead opted to drive the lane. He was cut off, but he caught a break when his larger defender slipped, giving him room to shoot.
Thornton short-armed his floater, which missed everything, and the game was essentially over. That’s a shot Thornton likely makes more than 90% of the time, and it was unfortunate that he couldn’t send the game to overtime with his attempt. That shot would hardly have been necessary had the Buckeyes hit more of their free throws.
It was also a sour end to the possession, as an apparent hip check that took out John Mobley Jr. went uncalled after 36 fouls had been whistled in the game. It was an odd play on which to swallow the whistle, but that lack of a call wasn’t the reason the team lost.
Mobley still would have had to hit both free throws, and although he is one of the better shooters on the team from the stripe, there are no guarantees.
There were other factors, like a lengthy field goal drought late in the first half that saw Ohio State either taking terrible shots or missing wide open ones. But that’s what I took away from the basketball version of The Game on Sunday.
What stood out to you?
Continue reading...
