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LGHL Ohio State women's odds to win the NCAA Tournament; potential Big Ten tournament opponents
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Ohio State women's odds to win the NCAA Tournament; potential Big Ten tournament opponents
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Buckeyes are 7-0 against their potential B1G quarterfinal opponents so far this season.
The Ohio State women’s basketball team ended its 2022-23 regular season on Friday night with a heart-breaking last-second defeat at the hands of No. 7 Maryland on Senior Night at the Value City Arena. While the bracket for this week’s Big Ten Tournament won’t be finalized until today’s slate of fives games is complete, by virtue of their win over Michigan on Monday night, Ohio State knows that they are locked into the No. 4 seed and will receive a double-bye.
It has been a season of ups and downs for the Buckeyes, having ridden an 18-game winning streak to start the season all the way to the No. 2 slot in the AP poll. But, now that they are entering the postseason, let’s take a look at where Vegas has them slotted in for the race to the national title.
According to DraftKings SportsBook, Kevin McGuff’s team has the 13th-best odds to win the national title at +6500. That number is fourth-best for a team from the Big Ten, behind Indiana (+900), Maryland (+3000), and Iowa (+4000). Michigan is tied for 17th at +8000. Perhaps not coincidentally, that is the order of seeding for the teams in the B1G Tourney.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24462632/Screen_Shot_2023_02_26_at_11.18.02_AM.png)
Obviously, these odds can and will change as the teams go through their conference tournament weeks. Regardless of opponent, the Buckeyes will tip off their postseason run on Friday, March 3 at roughly 3 p.m. ET, depending on how long the first game of the day runs.
They will play the winner of Thursday’s matchup between No. 5 Michigan and the winner of Wednesday’s No. 13 vs. No. 12 game. Penn State is guaranteed to be either No. 12 or 13. If Minnesota beats Purdue, the Gophers at the 12-seed and will face No. 13 PSU.
However, if Northwestern beats Nebraska on Sunday and Minnesota loses, the Nittany Lions are No. 12 and the Wildcats are No. 13. But, if both NU and Minnesota lose, the Golden Gophers will be No. 13.
So, on Friday, Ohio State will square off against No. 5 Michigan (who they have beaten twice this season 66-57 on Dec. 31 and 74-61 on Monday), Penn State (who they beat 67-55 on Feb. 16), Minnesota (who they beat 83-71 on Jan. 5 and 93-63 on Feb. 8), or Northwestern (who they beat 81-48 on. Dec. 28 and 84-54 on Jan. 19).
Collectively, the Buckeyes are 7-0 against their potential quarterfinal opponents, winning by an average score of 74 to 58. Obviously, the Wolverines would appear to be the most likely opponent, and beating a good team three times in a single season is a difficult task, but there is still the possibility for All-American guard Jacy Sheldon to return to the OSU lineup at some point this March. Having only played one game since November, Sheldon is still dealing with the effects of a lower leg injury, but if the Buckeyes could get her back at anything close to 100%, that would be a substantial difference-maker for the team’s chances heading into the Big Dance.
We will take another look at the women’s team’s NCAA Tournament chances once the Big Ten Tourney wraps up, but hopefully, that won’t happen until next Sunday when they have three more wins and a trophy to add to their resume.
Continue reading...
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Buckeyes are 7-0 against their potential B1G quarterfinal opponents so far this season.
The Ohio State women’s basketball team ended its 2022-23 regular season on Friday night with a heart-breaking last-second defeat at the hands of No. 7 Maryland on Senior Night at the Value City Arena. While the bracket for this week’s Big Ten Tournament won’t be finalized until today’s slate of fives games is complete, by virtue of their win over Michigan on Monday night, Ohio State knows that they are locked into the No. 4 seed and will receive a double-bye.
It has been a season of ups and downs for the Buckeyes, having ridden an 18-game winning streak to start the season all the way to the No. 2 slot in the AP poll. But, now that they are entering the postseason, let’s take a look at where Vegas has them slotted in for the race to the national title.
According to DraftKings SportsBook, Kevin McGuff’s team has the 13th-best odds to win the national title at +6500. That number is fourth-best for a team from the Big Ten, behind Indiana (+900), Maryland (+3000), and Iowa (+4000). Michigan is tied for 17th at +8000. Perhaps not coincidentally, that is the order of seeding for the teams in the B1G Tourney.
Obviously, these odds can and will change as the teams go through their conference tournament weeks. Regardless of opponent, the Buckeyes will tip off their postseason run on Friday, March 3 at roughly 3 p.m. ET, depending on how long the first game of the day runs.
They will play the winner of Thursday’s matchup between No. 5 Michigan and the winner of Wednesday’s No. 13 vs. No. 12 game. Penn State is guaranteed to be either No. 12 or 13. If Minnesota beats Purdue, the Gophers at the 12-seed and will face No. 13 PSU.
However, if Northwestern beats Nebraska on Sunday and Minnesota loses, the Nittany Lions are No. 12 and the Wildcats are No. 13. But, if both NU and Minnesota lose, the Golden Gophers will be No. 13.
So, on Friday, Ohio State will square off against No. 5 Michigan (who they have beaten twice this season 66-57 on Dec. 31 and 74-61 on Monday), Penn State (who they beat 67-55 on Feb. 16), Minnesota (who they beat 83-71 on Jan. 5 and 93-63 on Feb. 8), or Northwestern (who they beat 81-48 on. Dec. 28 and 84-54 on Jan. 19).
Collectively, the Buckeyes are 7-0 against their potential quarterfinal opponents, winning by an average score of 74 to 58. Obviously, the Wolverines would appear to be the most likely opponent, and beating a good team three times in a single season is a difficult task, but there is still the possibility for All-American guard Jacy Sheldon to return to the OSU lineup at some point this March. Having only played one game since November, Sheldon is still dealing with the effects of a lower leg injury, but if the Buckeyes could get her back at anything close to 100%, that would be a substantial difference-maker for the team’s chances heading into the Big Dance.
We will take another look at the women’s team’s NCAA Tournament chances once the Big Ten Tourney wraps up, but hopefully, that won’t happen until next Sunday when they have three more wins and a trophy to add to their resume.
Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.
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LGHL Ohio State women’s last-second loss to Maryland ‘should hurt,’ McGuff says
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Ohio State women’s last-second loss to Maryland ‘should hurt,’ McGuff says
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ben Cole - Land-Grant Holy Land
The Buckeyes aren’t looking for moral victories as postseason basketball approaches
On Friday night, the Ohio State women’s basketball team welcomed the Maryland Terrapins to the Schottenstein Center. What resulted was a back and forth game, featuring six lead changes and a single possession separating the two sides in a 76-74 Buckeyes defeat — a far cry from their 36-point loss to the Terps back on Feb. 5 in College Park, Maryland.
From the outside looking in, the result isn’t that bad. After all, the night before featured the Scarlet & Gray moving up from No. 16 to No. 12 in the NCAA committee’s top-16 — the almighty ranking showing who’s on track to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
Also, Ohio State’s been in strong form over the last couple weeks, convincingly beating their rivals, the No. 11 Michigan Wolverines, and beating the unranked teams they should beat.
Even so, the mood following the win was anything but the team holding their heads up high for an improved performance. Guard Taylor Mikesell, who was honored before the game for senior night, responded to a question about feeling better about this game than their previous defeat.
“As a competitor, no,” said Mikesell. “Because you wanna win the game. We definitely played better but I would say this is the first time Maryland actually played us.”
That first loss on Feb. 5 featured Ohio State losing not only in points, but turnovers and rebounds. It was also the worst shooting performance of the Buckeyes’ season. The complete lapse came on the back end of losing three out of four games, including to top-10 opponents in the Iowa Hawkeyes and Indiana Hoosiers, followed by a surprise defeat to unranked Purdue University.
Friday night, Maryland saw Ohio State near their best. The Buckeyes had their best shooting percentage and efficiency from beyond the arc than any of their previous games against top-10 Big Ten opponents. Four different Buckeyes scored at least double-digit points, and Ohio State out rebounded the Terrapins 42-31.
If anything, that better performance made the defeat even worse.
“Like I told them, it should really really hurt because when you invest as much as energy, effort, togetherness into a game and you don’t get the win it’s really hard,” said head coach Kevin McGuff. “It should hurt.”
What makes the pain dig even deeper sits in the number of free throw missed. In a two-point defeat, Ohio State shot 8-for-20 from the charity stripe. A 40% night on free attempts at points. In those 12 misses were two missed with 10 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Entering Friday, the Buckeyes shot 69.5% from the free throw line. Hitting close to that usual percentage gives Ohio State five extra points on the scoreboard, potentially creating an alternate ending where the Terps are pushing for a last second chance.
It’s easy to isolate that and pick it apart, but coach McGuff told his players the opposite.
“Sometimes the ball doesn’t go in the basket but you can always control your effort, your intensity, your competitive spirit,” said McGuff. “We did that, we just need to make one or two more plays.”
Even with the loss, and as painful as it may be, it might be what the Buckeyes need to propel them into the Big Ten Tournament. Look back at that previous 19-0 run and the subsequent 1-4 record in the two weeks following that record start to the season.
As much as Ohio State says they don't look at their record or rankings, the fall to Earth against Iowa and Indiana obviously rattled the team. A defeat in the final regular season game, in a contest where the Buckeyes had a chance to win, is the type of fuel needed to improve and take it into their fourth round matchup against a side that won’t be determined until the night before.
Fortunately, a Big Ten regular season features top teams in the country, and all feature different tactics and talent.
If record is any indicator, the No. 5 seed is most likely to face the Buckeyes on March 3. That’ll be either the Michigan Wolverines, Purdue Boilermakers or Illinois Fighting Illini. Ohio State will take Friday night’s lows and see what they can make out of them in the postseason.
“‘Keep this competitive spirit and fire and take that,’” said coach McGuff to the Buckeyes following the game. “That’s got to be the foundation of what we play on. So, to keep that where its at and then we’ll watch film and make sure we kind of shore up some things that we think we can get better with and go from there.”
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
Ben Cole - Land-Grant Holy Land
The Buckeyes aren’t looking for moral victories as postseason basketball approaches
On Friday night, the Ohio State women’s basketball team welcomed the Maryland Terrapins to the Schottenstein Center. What resulted was a back and forth game, featuring six lead changes and a single possession separating the two sides in a 76-74 Buckeyes defeat — a far cry from their 36-point loss to the Terps back on Feb. 5 in College Park, Maryland.
From the outside looking in, the result isn’t that bad. After all, the night before featured the Scarlet & Gray moving up from No. 16 to No. 12 in the NCAA committee’s top-16 — the almighty ranking showing who’s on track to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
Also, Ohio State’s been in strong form over the last couple weeks, convincingly beating their rivals, the No. 11 Michigan Wolverines, and beating the unranked teams they should beat.
Even so, the mood following the win was anything but the team holding their heads up high for an improved performance. Guard Taylor Mikesell, who was honored before the game for senior night, responded to a question about feeling better about this game than their previous defeat.
“As a competitor, no,” said Mikesell. “Because you wanna win the game. We definitely played better but I would say this is the first time Maryland actually played us.”
That first loss on Feb. 5 featured Ohio State losing not only in points, but turnovers and rebounds. It was also the worst shooting performance of the Buckeyes’ season. The complete lapse came on the back end of losing three out of four games, including to top-10 opponents in the Iowa Hawkeyes and Indiana Hoosiers, followed by a surprise defeat to unranked Purdue University.
Friday night, Maryland saw Ohio State near their best. The Buckeyes had their best shooting percentage and efficiency from beyond the arc than any of their previous games against top-10 Big Ten opponents. Four different Buckeyes scored at least double-digit points, and Ohio State out rebounded the Terrapins 42-31.
If anything, that better performance made the defeat even worse.
“Like I told them, it should really really hurt because when you invest as much as energy, effort, togetherness into a game and you don’t get the win it’s really hard,” said head coach Kevin McGuff. “It should hurt.”
What makes the pain dig even deeper sits in the number of free throw missed. In a two-point defeat, Ohio State shot 8-for-20 from the charity stripe. A 40% night on free attempts at points. In those 12 misses were two missed with 10 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Entering Friday, the Buckeyes shot 69.5% from the free throw line. Hitting close to that usual percentage gives Ohio State five extra points on the scoreboard, potentially creating an alternate ending where the Terps are pushing for a last second chance.
It’s easy to isolate that and pick it apart, but coach McGuff told his players the opposite.
“Sometimes the ball doesn’t go in the basket but you can always control your effort, your intensity, your competitive spirit,” said McGuff. “We did that, we just need to make one or two more plays.”
Even with the loss, and as painful as it may be, it might be what the Buckeyes need to propel them into the Big Ten Tournament. Look back at that previous 19-0 run and the subsequent 1-4 record in the two weeks following that record start to the season.
As much as Ohio State says they don't look at their record or rankings, the fall to Earth against Iowa and Indiana obviously rattled the team. A defeat in the final regular season game, in a contest where the Buckeyes had a chance to win, is the type of fuel needed to improve and take it into their fourth round matchup against a side that won’t be determined until the night before.
Fortunately, a Big Ten regular season features top teams in the country, and all feature different tactics and talent.
If record is any indicator, the No. 5 seed is most likely to face the Buckeyes on March 3. That’ll be either the Michigan Wolverines, Purdue Boilermakers or Illinois Fighting Illini. Ohio State will take Friday night’s lows and see what they can make out of them in the postseason.
“‘Keep this competitive spirit and fire and take that,’” said coach McGuff to the Buckeyes following the game. “That’s got to be the foundation of what we play on. So, to keep that where its at and then we’ll watch film and make sure we kind of shore up some things that we think we can get better with and go from there.”
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LGHL Ohio State men’s basketball vs. Illinois: Game preview and prediction
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Ohio State men’s basketball vs. Illinois: Game preview and prediction
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
After falling at home to Penn State on Thursday, the Buckeyes are back at Value City Arena today to host Illinois.
Ohio State will try and keep their losing streak from reaching double digits today when they host the Illinois Fighting Illini. Today’s game is not only the second-to-last home game of the year for the Buckeyes, it is also Captain’s Day at Value City Arena, where roughly 30 past and presents captains within the program will be honored at halftime.
On Thursday night, Ohio State hung with Penn State but couldn’t earn their first win in over a month, falling to the Nittany Lions 75-71. The game was tight throughout with 20 lead changes, and seven minutes of game time where the score was tied. The Buckeyes took a 65-64 lead with 6:52 left on a Bruce Thornton jumper. Penn State would regain the lead for good just over a minute later on a Jalen Pickett bucket.
Like last Sunday’s game against Purdue, Ohio State again started four freshmen. Brice Sensabaugh led the team with 20 points, while Bruce Thornton finished with 19 points. Had Thornton scored one more point it would have marked the first time two Buckeye freshmen scored 20 points in a game since D’Angelo Russell and Jae’Sean Tate each went for 20 points against Rutgers in 2015.
Along with Sensabaugh and Thornton, Justice Sueing and Issac Likekele both had a solid game on Thursday night. Sueing fell just a point short of a double-double, finishing with nine points to go along with 10 rebounds and four assists. Likekele also had four assists, seven points, and six rebounds. While those two were working hard, Sean McNeil was ice cold from the field, going 2-of-10 from the field, and 1-of-8 from three-point range.
Sensabaugh leads Ohio State with 16.6 points per game this year, which is fourth in the country among freshmen. The forward is one of just two active Buckeyes averaging double figures in scoring, with Justice Sueing putting in 11.9 points per contest. With 56 three-pointers this year, Sensabaugh has hit the second-most triples by a freshman in school history. D’Angelo Russell holds the mark for most threes by a freshman with 93 makes from behind the arc during his one season in Columbus.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24461299/1469065354.jpg "Northwestern v Illinois")
Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images
The last time Ohio State won a game was over a month ago. Following the win at home over Iowa, the Buckeyes made the trip to Champaign to face Illinois. Not much went right for Chris Holtmann’s team in that game, as the Fighting Illini took a 34-26 lead into halftime, and led by double digits for most of the second half.
Ohio State shot just 36.7 percent from the field and were out-rebounded 44-30 by Illinois. Sensabaugh scored a team-high 14 points, while Sueing added 13 points in 21 minutes off the bench. Illinois was paced by Terrence Shannon Jr., who finished with 17 points and seven rebounds.
Three other Illinois players recorded at least 10 points in the victory. Jayden Epps netted 14 points, Matthew Mayer scored 12 points and pulled down eight rebounds, and Coleman Hawkins finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and three blocks. The win extended Illinois’ lead in the series to 109-81.
It looked like the Fighting Illini were in trouble last time they took the court. Brad Underwood’s team went into the halftime break in Champaign on Thursday night trailing Northwestern 37-19, and nearly halfway through the second half they hadn’t really cut into the deficit, trailing 52-36 with just over 11 minutes to go in regulation. Illinois would finish the game on a 30-10 run to win their second straight game.
After missing the previous two games due to concussion symptoms, Terrence Shannon Jr. returned to the court for Illinois on Thursday night. The Texas Tech transfer came off the bench and scored 26 points in 28 minutes, including the layup that gave Illinois a 63-61 lead over the Wildcats with 1:16 left in the game. Shannon is averaging 17.3 points per game, which leads the Fighting Illini. The guard does a great job at forcing opponents to foul him, as the 6.3 fouls he draws per 40 minutes is second in the Big Ten behind Purdue’s Zach Edey.
The success of the Fighting Illini this season is surprising considering how much they last from last year’s squad. Underwood was tasked with trying to replace 86 percent of the scoring from last season, 80 percent of the rebounding, and 83 percent of the minutes played. It was a rocky start for Illinois, as thy lost their first three Big Ten games of the season, but have gone 10-4 in conference play since.
An area where Ohio State is going to have to be careful is when they take the basketball near the basket since Illinois is one of the best teams in the country at blocking shots. The Fighting Illini have blocked 162 shots this year, which ties a single-season school record. With 5.8 blocks per game, Illinois leads the Big Ten, and rank third in the country. Matthew Mayer, Dain Dainja, and Coleman Hawkins each have blocked at least 30 shots this season.
While Terrence Shannon Jr. is the team’s leading scorer, Matthew Mayer has been the hottest scorer for Illinois lately. Mayer has reached double figures on the score sheet in seven of the last eight games. In four of those games, Mayer has scored at least 20 points. For the season, Mayer is averaging 12.6 points per game, as well as 5.4 rebounds per game.
Along with Shannon and Mayer, Dain Dainja and Jayden Epps are each averaging at least 10 points per game. Being a freshman, Epps is a bit of a wild card and inconsistent with his play. On Monday, Epps scored 17 points in a win over Minnesota, and then a few days later he failed to score a point against Northwestern. Just behind Epps is Coleman Hawkins, who is averaging 9.8 points per game, and is also contributing 6.4 rebounds per game, as well as 3.0 assists per contest.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24456697/usa_today_20070129.jpg "NCAA Basketball: Penn State at Ohio State")
Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
It was encouraging to see Ohio State show some fight and taken Penn State down to the wire on Thursday night. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to snap their losing streak. Ending their losing skid won’t get any easier today against a team in the top-half of the Big Ten standings.
What is worrying about this game for the Buckeyes is how well Illinois uses their length. Ohio State lost a lot of size when Zed Key was ruled out for the rest of the season due to the shoulder injury he suffered. Felix Okpara does have the ability to become a force in the post, but he isn’t quite consistent enough yet with his play. These last few games of the season will help to set the table for a breakout season next year.
On Thursday, Brice Sensabaugh and Bruce Thornton did all they could to put the team on their backs. Justice Sueing and Issac Likekele contributed to the cause, but it’s obvious that the lack of depth is hurting the Buckeyes, especially late in the Big Ten regular season where everyone is banged up after the grind that conference play has been.
There are a lot of similarities between Illinois and Ohio State. Both teams lost a number of key players from last year’s tournament teams, forcing them to rely heavily on freshmen and transfers. How Illinois has handled this season is how Ohio State had hoped their season has went. This could have been a lost season for the Fighting Illini, but Brad Underwood and his team stayed strong after some early adversity in the season.
While it has to be said that it is tough to win on the road in the Big Ten, apparently it’s not so hard to win in Columbus since teams keep coming to Value City Arena and taking down the Buckeyes. Right now there is no juice with the Ohio State program, so it’s understandable why attendance and excitement is lacking.
With Illinois hosting Michigan on Thursday before closing out the regular season at Purdue, this is a game the Fighting Illini desperately need if they want to stay in the mix for a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament. Even though Ohio State could play spoiler here, right now they don’t have the depth, length, or positive morale to upset Illinois. The Buckeyes put forth a solid effort, but that only gets them so far.
ESPN BPI: Ohio State 54.1%
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
Continue reading...
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
After falling at home to Penn State on Thursday, the Buckeyes are back at Value City Arena today to host Illinois.
Ohio State will try and keep their losing streak from reaching double digits today when they host the Illinois Fighting Illini. Today’s game is not only the second-to-last home game of the year for the Buckeyes, it is also Captain’s Day at Value City Arena, where roughly 30 past and presents captains within the program will be honored at halftime.
On Thursday night, Ohio State hung with Penn State but couldn’t earn their first win in over a month, falling to the Nittany Lions 75-71. The game was tight throughout with 20 lead changes, and seven minutes of game time where the score was tied. The Buckeyes took a 65-64 lead with 6:52 left on a Bruce Thornton jumper. Penn State would regain the lead for good just over a minute later on a Jalen Pickett bucket.
Like last Sunday’s game against Purdue, Ohio State again started four freshmen. Brice Sensabaugh led the team with 20 points, while Bruce Thornton finished with 19 points. Had Thornton scored one more point it would have marked the first time two Buckeye freshmen scored 20 points in a game since D’Angelo Russell and Jae’Sean Tate each went for 20 points against Rutgers in 2015.
Along with Sensabaugh and Thornton, Justice Sueing and Issac Likekele both had a solid game on Thursday night. Sueing fell just a point short of a double-double, finishing with nine points to go along with 10 rebounds and four assists. Likekele also had four assists, seven points, and six rebounds. While those two were working hard, Sean McNeil was ice cold from the field, going 2-of-10 from the field, and 1-of-8 from three-point range.
Sensabaugh leads Ohio State with 16.6 points per game this year, which is fourth in the country among freshmen. The forward is one of just two active Buckeyes averaging double figures in scoring, with Justice Sueing putting in 11.9 points per contest. With 56 three-pointers this year, Sensabaugh has hit the second-most triples by a freshman in school history. D’Angelo Russell holds the mark for most threes by a freshman with 93 makes from behind the arc during his one season in Columbus.
Preview
The last time Ohio State won a game was over a month ago. Following the win at home over Iowa, the Buckeyes made the trip to Champaign to face Illinois. Not much went right for Chris Holtmann’s team in that game, as the Fighting Illini took a 34-26 lead into halftime, and led by double digits for most of the second half.
Ohio State shot just 36.7 percent from the field and were out-rebounded 44-30 by Illinois. Sensabaugh scored a team-high 14 points, while Sueing added 13 points in 21 minutes off the bench. Illinois was paced by Terrence Shannon Jr., who finished with 17 points and seven rebounds.
Three other Illinois players recorded at least 10 points in the victory. Jayden Epps netted 14 points, Matthew Mayer scored 12 points and pulled down eight rebounds, and Coleman Hawkins finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and three blocks. The win extended Illinois’ lead in the series to 109-81.
It looked like the Fighting Illini were in trouble last time they took the court. Brad Underwood’s team went into the halftime break in Champaign on Thursday night trailing Northwestern 37-19, and nearly halfway through the second half they hadn’t really cut into the deficit, trailing 52-36 with just over 11 minutes to go in regulation. Illinois would finish the game on a 30-10 run to win their second straight game.
After missing the previous two games due to concussion symptoms, Terrence Shannon Jr. returned to the court for Illinois on Thursday night. The Texas Tech transfer came off the bench and scored 26 points in 28 minutes, including the layup that gave Illinois a 63-61 lead over the Wildcats with 1:16 left in the game. Shannon is averaging 17.3 points per game, which leads the Fighting Illini. The guard does a great job at forcing opponents to foul him, as the 6.3 fouls he draws per 40 minutes is second in the Big Ten behind Purdue’s Zach Edey.
The success of the Fighting Illini this season is surprising considering how much they last from last year’s squad. Underwood was tasked with trying to replace 86 percent of the scoring from last season, 80 percent of the rebounding, and 83 percent of the minutes played. It was a rocky start for Illinois, as thy lost their first three Big Ten games of the season, but have gone 10-4 in conference play since.
An area where Ohio State is going to have to be careful is when they take the basketball near the basket since Illinois is one of the best teams in the country at blocking shots. The Fighting Illini have blocked 162 shots this year, which ties a single-season school record. With 5.8 blocks per game, Illinois leads the Big Ten, and rank third in the country. Matthew Mayer, Dain Dainja, and Coleman Hawkins each have blocked at least 30 shots this season.
While Terrence Shannon Jr. is the team’s leading scorer, Matthew Mayer has been the hottest scorer for Illinois lately. Mayer has reached double figures on the score sheet in seven of the last eight games. In four of those games, Mayer has scored at least 20 points. For the season, Mayer is averaging 12.6 points per game, as well as 5.4 rebounds per game.
Along with Shannon and Mayer, Dain Dainja and Jayden Epps are each averaging at least 10 points per game. Being a freshman, Epps is a bit of a wild card and inconsistent with his play. On Monday, Epps scored 17 points in a win over Minnesota, and then a few days later he failed to score a point against Northwestern. Just behind Epps is Coleman Hawkins, who is averaging 9.8 points per game, and is also contributing 6.4 rebounds per game, as well as 3.0 assists per contest.
Prediction
It was encouraging to see Ohio State show some fight and taken Penn State down to the wire on Thursday night. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to snap their losing streak. Ending their losing skid won’t get any easier today against a team in the top-half of the Big Ten standings.
What is worrying about this game for the Buckeyes is how well Illinois uses their length. Ohio State lost a lot of size when Zed Key was ruled out for the rest of the season due to the shoulder injury he suffered. Felix Okpara does have the ability to become a force in the post, but he isn’t quite consistent enough yet with his play. These last few games of the season will help to set the table for a breakout season next year.
On Thursday, Brice Sensabaugh and Bruce Thornton did all they could to put the team on their backs. Justice Sueing and Issac Likekele contributed to the cause, but it’s obvious that the lack of depth is hurting the Buckeyes, especially late in the Big Ten regular season where everyone is banged up after the grind that conference play has been.
There are a lot of similarities between Illinois and Ohio State. Both teams lost a number of key players from last year’s tournament teams, forcing them to rely heavily on freshmen and transfers. How Illinois has handled this season is how Ohio State had hoped their season has went. This could have been a lost season for the Fighting Illini, but Brad Underwood and his team stayed strong after some early adversity in the season.
While it has to be said that it is tough to win on the road in the Big Ten, apparently it’s not so hard to win in Columbus since teams keep coming to Value City Arena and taking down the Buckeyes. Right now there is no juice with the Ohio State program, so it’s understandable why attendance and excitement is lacking.
With Illinois hosting Michigan on Thursday before closing out the regular season at Purdue, this is a game the Fighting Illini desperately need if they want to stay in the mix for a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament. Even though Ohio State could play spoiler here, right now they don’t have the depth, length, or positive morale to upset Illinois. The Buckeyes put forth a solid effort, but that only gets them so far.
ESPN BPI: Ohio State 54.1%
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
LGHL score prediction: Illinois 71, Ohio State 62
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LGHL Game Gallery: No. 16 Ohio State women’s narrow defeat to No. 7 Maryland
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Game Gallery: No. 16 Ohio State women’s narrow defeat to No. 7 Maryland
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ben Cole - Land-Grant Holy Land
Showing you moments of a game full of action.
Friday night, the Ohio State women’s basketball team faced one the toughest teams in the conference and arguably the nation over the past two weeks. The No. 7 Maryland Terrapins entered Columbus fresh off a 28-point win over the No. 6 Iowa Hawkeyes.
Considering how Ohio State lost to the three teams (Indiana, Iowa, and Maryland) in front of them in the Big Ten standings, another lopsided defeat would be no surprise. Instead, the Buckeyes and Terrapins swapped leads six times, with it coming down to the final shot going in a fraction of a second too late for the Scarlet & Gray, losing 76-74.
Take a look at some of the action from the game, including senior night honors.
Instagram: @BenColeImaging
Twitter: @BenColeImaging
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1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ben Cole - Land-Grant Holy Land
Showing you moments of a game full of action.
Friday night, the Ohio State women’s basketball team faced one the toughest teams in the conference and arguably the nation over the past two weeks. The No. 7 Maryland Terrapins entered Columbus fresh off a 28-point win over the No. 6 Iowa Hawkeyes.
Considering how Ohio State lost to the three teams (Indiana, Iowa, and Maryland) in front of them in the Big Ten standings, another lopsided defeat would be no surprise. Instead, the Buckeyes and Terrapins swapped leads six times, with it coming down to the final shot going in a fraction of a second too late for the Scarlet & Gray, losing 76-74.
Take a look at some of the action from the game, including senior night honors.
Connect with Ben Cole:
Instagram: @BenColeImaging
Twitter: @BenColeImaging
Website: www.bencoleimaging.com
Continue reading...
LGHL LGHL Uncut Podcast: Coach McGuff and Mikesell discuss disappointing defeat to Maryland
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LGHL Uncut Podcast: Coach McGuff and Mikesell discuss disappointing defeat to Maryland
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ben Cole - Land-Grant Holy Land
Although Ohio State played better than a 36-point defeat on Feb. 5 to the Terrapins, a two-point loss was tough to take.
Throughout the year, Land-Grant Holy Land will be bringing you uncut audio primarily from Ohio State press conferences, but also from individual interview sessions.
On the final day of the regular season, the Ohio State women’s basketball team looked like the team they were going into the 2023 calendar. Instead of a lopsided double-digit loss to a Big Ten team for the fifth time this season, the Buckeyes played to the last second against the No. 7 Terrapins, ultimately falling 76-74.
After the defeat, head coach Kevin McGuff and guard Taylor Mikesell spoke to the media. Breaking down the game, coach McGuff talked about the game going down to the visitors making one more play than the Buckeyes. Also, if free throw shooting was anywhere close to average it would’ve been a different story.
McGuff also shares what he said to the team following the loss and what Mikesell means to the program in her short time in it, with Friday also being senior night for the graduate senior.
Then, Mikesell addresses the competitive response to the loss, and not taking moral victory in losing by a single possession. Also, the guard talks about what’s different now than earlier this month when the Buckeyes were playing poorly and losing to top teams in the conference and what it meant to finish her career with Ohio State.
Next up for the Buckeyes is the Big Ten Tournament, starting Friday in the third round.
Connect with Thomas:
Twitter: @1ThomasCostello
Theme music provided by www.bensound.com
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
Ben Cole - Land-Grant Holy Land
Although Ohio State played better than a 36-point defeat on Feb. 5 to the Terrapins, a two-point loss was tough to take.
Throughout the year, Land-Grant Holy Land will be bringing you uncut audio primarily from Ohio State press conferences, but also from individual interview sessions.
On the final day of the regular season, the Ohio State women’s basketball team looked like the team they were going into the 2023 calendar. Instead of a lopsided double-digit loss to a Big Ten team for the fifth time this season, the Buckeyes played to the last second against the No. 7 Terrapins, ultimately falling 76-74.
After the defeat, head coach Kevin McGuff and guard Taylor Mikesell spoke to the media. Breaking down the game, coach McGuff talked about the game going down to the visitors making one more play than the Buckeyes. Also, if free throw shooting was anywhere close to average it would’ve been a different story.
McGuff also shares what he said to the team following the loss and what Mikesell means to the program in her short time in it, with Friday also being senior night for the graduate senior.
Then, Mikesell addresses the competitive response to the loss, and not taking moral victory in losing by a single possession. Also, the guard talks about what’s different now than earlier this month when the Buckeyes were playing poorly and losing to top teams in the conference and what it meant to finish her career with Ohio State.
Next up for the Buckeyes is the Big Ten Tournament, starting Friday in the third round.
Connect with Thomas:
Twitter: @1ThomasCostello
Theme music provided by www.bensound.com
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State’s men’s hockey team faces Minnesota to close out their regular season schedule
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Ohio State’s men’s hockey team faces Minnesota to close out their regular season schedule
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jaime Crawford/Getty Images
The Buckeyes travel to Minneapolis for two games against the top team in the country before the Big Ten Tournament begins
Ohio State’s men’s ice hockey team closes out their regular season schedule this weekend in Minneapolis, where they’ll take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who are currently the No. 1 ranked team in the country. This will be Ohio State’s first trip to Minneapolis since November 2021, when they split a series with the Golden Gophers.
Not only was the last series between the teams in Minneapolis a split, but the series earlier this season that was played in October in Columbus was also a split. The Buckeyes won the first game of the two-game series 6-4. Dominic Vidoli scored the only goal of the first period. The action gained some steam in the second period with the teams combining for five goals. After Minnesota tied up the game, Ohio State responded with goals from Travis Treloar on the power play, followed by Joe Dunlap’s second goal of the year just over a minute later.
After Minnesota inched closer with a Brody Lamb goal, the Buckeyes were able to restore the two-goal lead shortly after when Stephen Halliday lit the lamp. Travis Treloar scored his second goal of the game early in the third period, which was followed five minutes later by a goal from Patrick Guzzo to extend the lead to 6-2. Minnesota would score two goals late in the third period, but didn’t have enough time to complete the comeback.
The Golden Gophers responded the next day with a 4-2 win to prevent Ohio State from completing the sweep. Jackson LaCombe opened up the scoring, while Davis Burnside evened up the score for Ohio State with a shorthanded goal less than a minute later. Unfortunately for Buckeye fans, Minnesota reeled off the next three goals of the game. Burnside was able to net another shorthanded goal near the end of the game, but it was too little, too late.
Ohio State enters this weekend’s series coming off one of the most notable wins in school history. After a 3-3 overtime draw against Michigan last Thursday in Columbus, the teams traveled up to Cleveland to play outdoors at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Wolverines won the first outdoor game the teams played in Cleveland at Progressive Field in 2012, but this time the result was in Ohio State’s favor, with the Buckeyes winning 4-2 in front of 45,523 on a beautiful February day.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24459558/1468078173.jpg "Faceoff on the Lake - Michigan v Ohio State")
Photo by Jaime Crawford/Getty Images
After a scoreless first period on the shores of Lake Erie, the action ramped up in the second period, with the teams scoring four goals. Cole McWard opened up the scoring with his fourth goal of the season at the 14:21 mark. The Buckeyes would double their lead three minutes late when Jake Wise potted a power play goal. The Wolverines would pull one back when Gavin Brindley scored, but the two-goal would be restored less than a minute when Tyler Duke scored a shorthanded goal in the final minute of the period.
Following the second period intermission, Michigan would again close the deficit when Eric Ciccolini scored nearly midway through the third period. Much like in the second period when the Wolverines scored, Ohio State would responded quickly, this time on a power play goal from Stephen Halliday. Jake Wise was credited with his second assist of the game on the goal, and a couple days later Wise was named the Big Ten’s Third Star of the Week for his performance.
While Wise was honored for his performance, another Buckeye that came up big in the game was goaltender Jakub Dobes, who made 35 saves in the win, with 19 of those stops coming in the third period. The goalie has now played in 32 of Ohio State’s 35 games this year, posting an 18-11-3-3 record with a 2.24 goals against average, and a .918 save percentage.
Not only in the first series with Minnesota this year, but also on Saturday, Ohio State used their special teams to put some goals on the board. While the Buckeyes putting up 29 power play goals in 35 games is a great number, even more impressive is what Ohio State does when they are at a disadvantage on the ice. The Buckeyes are first in the country, killing off 117 of the 130 penalties they have been called for. Ohio State has also netted 10 shorthanded goals this year, which is also the top mark in the country.
Minnesota will try to keep the top spot in the country this weekend, but they don’t have much else to play for. The Golden Gophers have already clinched the Big Ten regular season title and a bye in the conference tournament. Heading into this weekend’s games, Minnesota is 23-8-1 overall with 51 points in the standings.
On the other side, Ohio State has plenty to play for. After Minnesota, the next three teams in the Big Ten standings earn home-ice advantage for the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Currently the Buckeyes are tied for second with Michigan, with both teams earning 36 points through 22 games.
Michigan State has already closed out their regular season schedule, and sit in fourth place with 34 points. Not far behind the Spartans are Penn State and Notre Dame, who each have 31 points and two games left to play. Three points are earned for a regulation win, two points for an overtime or shootout win, and one point is given for an overtime or shootout loss.
While Ohio State will have most of their focus on Minnesota, they’ll also have an eye towards the scoreboard this weekend. Michigan hosts Notre Dame, while Penn State hosts Wisconsin, who currently sits at the bottom of the Big Ten standings. The worst case scenario for the Buckeyes would be if they fail to secure a point this weekend, while Notre Dame and Penn State both win in regulation in both of their games this weekend.
Strangely enough, the Buckeyes would actually benefit from a good showing by the Wolverines against the Fighting Irish in Ann Arbor.
Since the standings in the Big Ten are tight between Minnesota at the top, and Wisconsin at the bottom, it’s hard to predict how the conference tournament matchups are going to shake out in the first round. Unless a catastrophe happens, at least the Buckeyes should be at home to open up the Big Ten Tournament, but the standings are a little too jumbled to know who they’ll be facing.
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Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jaime Crawford/Getty Images
The Buckeyes travel to Minneapolis for two games against the top team in the country before the Big Ten Tournament begins
Ohio State’s men’s ice hockey team closes out their regular season schedule this weekend in Minneapolis, where they’ll take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who are currently the No. 1 ranked team in the country. This will be Ohio State’s first trip to Minneapolis since November 2021, when they split a series with the Golden Gophers.
Last time against the Golden Gophers
Not only was the last series between the teams in Minneapolis a split, but the series earlier this season that was played in October in Columbus was also a split. The Buckeyes won the first game of the two-game series 6-4. Dominic Vidoli scored the only goal of the first period. The action gained some steam in the second period with the teams combining for five goals. After Minnesota tied up the game, Ohio State responded with goals from Travis Treloar on the power play, followed by Joe Dunlap’s second goal of the year just over a minute later.
After Minnesota inched closer with a Brody Lamb goal, the Buckeyes were able to restore the two-goal lead shortly after when Stephen Halliday lit the lamp. Travis Treloar scored his second goal of the game early in the third period, which was followed five minutes later by a goal from Patrick Guzzo to extend the lead to 6-2. Minnesota would score two goals late in the third period, but didn’t have enough time to complete the comeback.
The Golden Gophers responded the next day with a 4-2 win to prevent Ohio State from completing the sweep. Jackson LaCombe opened up the scoring, while Davis Burnside evened up the score for Ohio State with a shorthanded goal less than a minute later. Unfortunately for Buckeye fans, Minnesota reeled off the next three goals of the game. Burnside was able to net another shorthanded goal near the end of the game, but it was too little, too late.
A Saturday to remember
Ohio State enters this weekend’s series coming off one of the most notable wins in school history. After a 3-3 overtime draw against Michigan last Thursday in Columbus, the teams traveled up to Cleveland to play outdoors at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Wolverines won the first outdoor game the teams played in Cleveland at Progressive Field in 2012, but this time the result was in Ohio State’s favor, with the Buckeyes winning 4-2 in front of 45,523 on a beautiful February day.
After a scoreless first period on the shores of Lake Erie, the action ramped up in the second period, with the teams scoring four goals. Cole McWard opened up the scoring with his fourth goal of the season at the 14:21 mark. The Buckeyes would double their lead three minutes late when Jake Wise potted a power play goal. The Wolverines would pull one back when Gavin Brindley scored, but the two-goal would be restored less than a minute when Tyler Duke scored a shorthanded goal in the final minute of the period.
Following the second period intermission, Michigan would again close the deficit when Eric Ciccolini scored nearly midway through the third period. Much like in the second period when the Wolverines scored, Ohio State would responded quickly, this time on a power play goal from Stephen Halliday. Jake Wise was credited with his second assist of the game on the goal, and a couple days later Wise was named the Big Ten’s Third Star of the Week for his performance.
While Wise was honored for his performance, another Buckeye that came up big in the game was goaltender Jakub Dobes, who made 35 saves in the win, with 19 of those stops coming in the third period. The goalie has now played in 32 of Ohio State’s 35 games this year, posting an 18-11-3-3 record with a 2.24 goals against average, and a .918 save percentage.
Not only in the first series with Minnesota this year, but also on Saturday, Ohio State used their special teams to put some goals on the board. While the Buckeyes putting up 29 power play goals in 35 games is a great number, even more impressive is what Ohio State does when they are at a disadvantage on the ice. The Buckeyes are first in the country, killing off 117 of the 130 penalties they have been called for. Ohio State has also netted 10 shorthanded goals this year, which is also the top mark in the country.
What’s at stake this weekend
Minnesota will try to keep the top spot in the country this weekend, but they don’t have much else to play for. The Golden Gophers have already clinched the Big Ten regular season title and a bye in the conference tournament. Heading into this weekend’s games, Minnesota is 23-8-1 overall with 51 points in the standings.
On the other side, Ohio State has plenty to play for. After Minnesota, the next three teams in the Big Ten standings earn home-ice advantage for the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Currently the Buckeyes are tied for second with Michigan, with both teams earning 36 points through 22 games.
Michigan State has already closed out their regular season schedule, and sit in fourth place with 34 points. Not far behind the Spartans are Penn State and Notre Dame, who each have 31 points and two games left to play. Three points are earned for a regulation win, two points for an overtime or shootout win, and one point is given for an overtime or shootout loss.
While Ohio State will have most of their focus on Minnesota, they’ll also have an eye towards the scoreboard this weekend. Michigan hosts Notre Dame, while Penn State hosts Wisconsin, who currently sits at the bottom of the Big Ten standings. The worst case scenario for the Buckeyes would be if they fail to secure a point this weekend, while Notre Dame and Penn State both win in regulation in both of their games this weekend.
Strangely enough, the Buckeyes would actually benefit from a good showing by the Wolverines against the Fighting Irish in Ann Arbor.
Since the standings in the Big Ten are tight between Minnesota at the top, and Wisconsin at the bottom, it’s hard to predict how the conference tournament matchups are going to shake out in the first round. Unless a catastrophe happens, at least the Buckeyes should be at home to open up the Big Ten Tournament, but the standings are a little too jumbled to know who they’ll be facing.
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