Ohio State women’s basketball moves to No. 3 in AP Poll
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Due to a UConn defeat, the Buckeyes move up one more spot

The Ohio State Buckeyes women’s basketball team earned another spot in the AP poll this week. After starting at No. 14 in the preseason, and jumping up to No. 4 two weeks ago, the Scarlet & Gray now sit at No. 3, thanks to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Last week, the Buckeyes played twice. In the first game, in Louisville, Kentucky, head coach Kevin McGuff’s side went down 14 points near halftime, in a game that didn’t look like it’d go Ohio State’s way. In the second half, guard Taylor Mikesell’s 26 points helped the Buckeyes surge past the then No. 18 ranked Louisville Cardinals in a 96-77 eventual rout in the final ACC/B1G Challenge.

On Sunday, conference play began, with the Buckeyes traveling to Piscataway, New Jersey for a date against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Rutgers had a tough season to start the 22/23 campaign but pushed Ohio State to tie the Buckeyes’ lowest winning margin of 12 points, after going up 14 points in the first quarter alone.

Launching the Scarlet & Gray to their first Big Ten win was the scoring of Mikesell and forward Rebeka Mikulášiková. Mikesell’s 30 and Mikulasikova’s 31 propelled Ohio State to an 82-70 win, without All-B1G First Team point guard Jacy Sheldon, out with a lower leg injury. It was the first game of the season where the Buckeyes needed a big performance from two individual players, after seven games featuring fairly distributed performances.

Even so, the Buckeyes moved ahead of the No. 5 UConn Huskies, who occupied the No. 3 spot. UConn, is without star guard Azzi Fudd. The guard went down in the game with a knee injury, Notre Dame won 74-60, in South Bend, Indiana.

Speaking of Indiana, the Hoosiers jumped UConn too, taking the No. 4 spot.

The ranking jump over UConn makes sense if looking at records, but beneath the records, UConn’s had a strong start to the season. They were the first team during this campaign to win three games against top-10 opponents. On the dates they played the Texas Longhorns, NC State Wolfpack, and Iowa Hawkeyes, all three were ranked in the top 10, even though some have fallen over the past two weeks.

Compare that to the Buckeyes, who played one top-10 team in the Tennessee Volunteers, who are now unranked, and an away win against then No. 18 Cardinals. Overall, the standard of play at UConn has been higher, outside of their one defeat featuring an injury for a team who’s already down an injury with Paige Beuckers out for the entirety of the season.

With the new ranking comes new pressure for the Buckeyes. The only teams now ranked ahead of McGuff’s side are No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks and No. 2 Stanford University. The higher the ranking, the larger the target from opponents.

After Thursday’s home game against the University of New Hampshire, the Buckeyes welcome the Michigan State Spartans to Columbus in their first home conference test of the campaign.

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College Football Playoff offers Ryan Day a shot to change his legacy
Michael Citro via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Cracks have appeared in Day’s tenure at Ohio State as he gets further removed from the Urban Meyer era, but he now has a chance to rewrite his legacy’s trajectory.

Ryan Day is in his fourth season at the helm of the Ohio State football program, and after a promising start, some of the luster has come off of his stewardship of the Buckeyes the last couple of years. Despite maintaining a high level of recruiting, the further he’s removed from the Urban Meyer era, the more inconsistently his teams have played — and the more inexplicably odd the decisions and performances have become in the team’s biggest games, especially against the Buckeyes’ biggest rival.

However, with USC’s bad loss to Utah on Friday night and the Buckeyes’ selection to compete in the College Football Playoff, Day has a chance to correct the trajectory of his OSU legacy and move the narrative of his Ohio State career closer to that of Meyer’s than to John Cooper’s.

Things started brightly for Day in Columbus after Meyer’s departure. Day’s Buckeyes went unbeaten in the 2019 regular season, destroyed No. 13 Michigan in Ann Arbor, 56-27, defeated No. 8 Wisconsin by 13 points in the Big Ten Championship, and then got summarily robbed of an almost certain win over No. 3 Clemson due to an unconscionable officiating decision to overturn an apparent fumble forced by Jeff Okudah and Jordan Fuller’s subsequent scoop and score in the Fiesta Bowl.

That loss, which turned largely on a decision to negate a play that was called correctly on the field, was all that kept Day and the Buckeyes out of the national championship game in his first season in charge.

The 2020 season was an odd one due to the pandemic. After the Big Ten almost scrapped the season while other leagues played, conference teams played different numbers of games due to COVID outbreaks within their squads. Day’s Buckeyes navigated their way to the College Football Playoff after a 5-0 regular season, although a nervy home win over Indiana showed some vulnerability.

Day himself showed vulnerability as a head coach and as a play caller in the Big Ten title game against Northwestern that year. The Wildcats were locked in on stopping the pass in that game and did a good job of doing so. Despite some obvious early success on Trey Sermon runs, the Buckeyes trailed 10-6 at the half and steadfastly refused to commit to the ground game.

Once Day finally — seemingly begrudgingly — did that, Sermon turned in an all-time performance, setting a school record with 331 rushing yards as the Buckeyes outscored Northwestern 16-0 after halftime to win, 22-10.

It’s Monday, so why not spend five minutes enjoying those memories:


Day then led an angry Ohio State team against No. 2 Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinal and got everything exactly right, stuffing Dabo Swinney and the Tigers into a locker with a 49-28 revenge victory. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes lost some key players (including Sermon) prior to and early in the championship match-up with Alabama, couldn’t figure out how to cover DeVonta Smith, and fell 52-24. That was a great Crimson Tide team, and a national runner-up season was probably a fair final outcome for the 2020 Buckeyes.

But Year 3 after Urban is when the cracks really started to show. While it’s clear that defensive problems — which were wallpapered over a bit by shuffling the coaching staff deck chairs midseason — created problems for Ohio State, it wasn’t only that side of the ball that was at fault for an 11-2 season and the team’s first loss to Michigan since 2003.

It took a couple of games, including a home loss to Oregon that can largely be pinned on defensive scheme issues, to get first-year starter C.J. Stroud settled in. Those early games were exacerbated by Stroud’s shoulder injury that eventually got better with some rest. But it was the Penn State game when we first saw the Buckeyes play like they were wound far too tightly. The Buckeyes prevailed 33-24 at home, but there were a number of unnecessary mistakes, penalties, and a Jeremy Ruckert fumble that helped the Nittany Lions that day.

The Penn State performance spilled over into the next game when the Buckeyes went to Nebraska and played a bad (ultimately 3-9) Cornhuskers team much closer than expected, scoring just two touchdowns, and only 26 points. Six of Nebraska’s other opponents scored more points against the Huskers in 2021 than Ohio State did.

An easy 56-7 destruction of No. 7 Michigan State had the Buckeyes feeling good going into The Game last year. But then things went very wrong.

The Buckeyes again had to settle for field goals early, ran inconsistently, trailed at halftime, and the defense got steamrolled in the second half as the Wolverines won, 42-27. It was the first time Ohio State had failed to reach the Big Ten’s title game since 2016 and just the fourth time ever that the Buckeyes failed to get there.

Ohio State finished the season with an appearance in the Rose Bowl against Utah, missing high-profile opt-outs that included starting wide receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, defensive tackle Haskell Garrett, and tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere. The Buckeyes showed some resilience to rally back to defeat the Utes, 48-45.

The 2022 season provided a chance at a fresh start for Day, with some changes to the coaching staff that were supposed to fix the issues of 2021, particularly on defense and along the offensive line. For the most part, the changes to the coaching staff did what they were supposed to do until the rivalry game.

Day led the Buckeyes to a 21-10 win over No. 5 Notre Dame on opening day, but things didn’t look crisp. While it seemed like that might be due to the Fighting Irish being a good team, Notre Dame went on to suffer an embarrassing home loss to Marshall the next week and struggled to win some close games over the next several weeks, losing at home again to Stanford on Oct. 15. The Irish righted the ship after that and had a decent year, but Ohio State’s struggles against the Notre Dame defense seemed odd at the time and after the full regular season, they don’t seem any less strange.

But that was just the first salvo fired at Day’s reputation in 2022. There were first-half struggles against Iowa and Penn State, with some curious play-calling and a lack of any adjustments until halftime, and the team again seemingly played too tightly and looking unsettled at times. Ohio State trailed midway through the fourth quarter of that game before finally taking control, starting with a long TreVeyon Henderson touchdown run.

Then the trip to Northwestern showed an outright stubbornness on Day’s part to adjust to clearly difficult weather conditions and commit to running the football. A bad Wildcats team went into the locker room visibly excited to be tied 7-7 with the Buckeyes, and Ohio State managed only two more scores in the second half to win 21-7. Fans and pundits were again questioning the Buckeyes’ toughness and ability to play up to their talent level after that game, as they had done following the 2021 loss to Michigan.

The team went on the road the week before The Game and again struggled through the first half against a Maryland team that had lost its previous two games. Day’s Buckeyes couldn’t get much done offensively in the first half and trailed 13-10 at the break. Ohio State took control in the third quarter, but struggled again in the fourth as the Terrapins climbed back into the game, cutting the lead to three points with less than 10 minutes to play. Day’s offense added a field goal, but it was a defensive play that helped the Buckeyes put the game away with just seconds remaining.

Ohio State got off to a good start in The Game in 2022, but then suffered from the same issues it had all season. They all came to a head in one game. The team played tight —despite a good start — fell into play-calling ruts, had pre-snap penalties, and busted coverage regularly. Defensive Coordinator Jim Knowles put his cornerbacks — a position group that struggled all season — on an island repeatedly in the first half and that allowed the Wolverines to bust some big plays and settle into the game after a jittery start.

None of Ohio State’s halftime adjustments worked in The Game, with the Buckeyes scoring just three measly second-half points. With Knowles’ defense uncharacteristically giving up two huge touchdown runs late, the final score wasn’t even close as the Wolverines prevailed, 45-23, winning in the Horseshoe for the first time in 20 years. Credit to Michigan, but it’s hard to imagine the team going gently to that goodnight under Meyer or Jim Tressel.

Despite an insanely good overall record, fans and some media outlets suggested (strongly) that Ohio State should replace Day as head coach. Public perception is that Day is trying to do too much and should turn over play-calling duties rather than trying to serve as both offensive coordinator and head coach. There’s plenty of ammunition for those critiques, with the Buckeyes laboring all season to do basic things — like getting the snap off before the play clock expired — and repeatedly calling plays that the team struggles to execute anywhere near satisfactorily (wide receiver screens, anyone?).

Though Day had few detractors over his first couple of seasons, and any criticisms of him seemed to come mainly from a vocal minority of a spoiled fanbase, the 2022 season — for the first time — made the suggestions of replacing him sound reasonable. It seemed there might be some credence to accusations that Day “doesn’t get” the rivalry with Michigan after two straight lopsided losses in The Game. And there was certainly plenty of evidence that Day refuses to change elements of his game plan that aren’t working or to adjust play-calling to throw out things that clearly aren’t working or stick with things that are.

Friday night, the Buckeyes got a major break, with USC getting housed by three-loss Utah in the Pac-12 championship. The Utes, who previously nipped the Trojans earlier in the year, destroyed USC in front of the entire nation in the rematch. After a season that included some close USC wins against average teams, in which a special player like quarterback Caleb Williams made all the difference, the Trojans had their second loss and that cracked the door open for Ohio State.

The Buckeyes got word Sunday that they’ll be going to the College Football Playoff after all. Their reward is a New Year’s Eve matchup with No. 1 Georgia — perhaps the best and most complete team in college football in 2022. Ohio State enters as the underdog, which is a role the team has not found itself in all year. There’s a chance to salvage a season that easily could have ended in a meaningless bowl game with several top players, including Stroud, sitting it out.

But now Day has a chance to rewrite an OSU legacy that has been showing more and more cracks as the time since Meyer’s departure grows. The Bulldogs will be tough and physical. Georgia’s defensive backs can run with Day’s celebrated receiving corps. And Kirby Smart’s offense can both run with power like Michigan and pick apart defenses through the air. Georgia made LSU look like a 2-10 team in the SEC championship. Avoiding a lopsided loss is imperative or Day’s critics will only get louder and Ohio State’s days of getting any benefit of the doubt will be over.

However, if Day and his staff can create a successful game plan to upset Georgia and get the Buckeyes to execute that plan with few (or no) mistakes, it will quiet some of the criticism. It will also likely set up a rematch with a team that has gotten the better of him two years running.

A win over the Bulldogs will probably — not certainly, but probably — set up a rematch of The Game on the biggest stage in college football. If Day can learn from his past mistakes and get revenge on Michigan in that iteration of The Game, it would shut just about everyone up and completely change the trajectory of his Ohio State coaching career. This would have to include working with Knowles to improve a dumpster fire of a game plan from the team’s most recent outing, but Day hired Knowles, so his destiny is tied to his defensive coordinator.

If Day were to lose that game, it might be a spiral from which he would be unable to recover. There is always pressure coaching at Ohio State. The next game — or two — will show how Day can handle it at its most intense.

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Why is this News? All the articles and tweets Buckeye fans need for December 5, 2022
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

All the Buckeye news thats fit to re-print.

Look, we get it. Your days are busy and you don’t have time to read all of the stories and tweets from the three dozen websites dedicated to covering Ohio State athletics, or the 237 Buckeye beat writers churning out hot takes and #content on a daily basis. But that’s ok, that’s what your friends at Land-Grant Holy Land are here for.

Monday through Friday, we’ll be collecting all of the articles, tweets, features, interviews, videos, podcasts, memes, photos, and whatever else we stumble across on the interwebz and putting them in our daily “Why is this News?” article. That way, you’ll have a one-stop shop for all of the most important Buckeye news, jokes, and analysis.

You’re welcome!

For your Earholes...


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(Editor’s Note: Normally our Why is this News? column focuses on all things Ohio State athletics, but today, we are zeroing in on just the College Football Playoff, for obvious reasons)

After the Announcement


Ohio State sneaks into the College Football Playoff at No. 4
Gene Ross, Land-Grant Holy Land

What Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Georgia’s Kirby Smart said after being matched up in Peach Bowl
Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts

Injury updates on Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Buckeyes running backs
Andy Backstrom, Lettermen Row

Watch Ryan Day’s full post-CFP announcement press conference:


Snap Judgments: National title hopes alive as Buckeyes head to Peach (paywall)
Austin Ward, Dotting the Eyes

After ‘awful’ week, re-energized Buckeyes entering ‘new season’ in CFP (paywall)
Spencer Holbrook, Lettermen Row

Ohio State Took “A Hard Look in the Mirror: Following Michigan Loss, Then Turned Page to Preparing for College Football Playoff
Dan Hope, Eleven Warriors

Ohio State energized by College Football Playoff invite: ‘Time to go to work’ (paywall)
Cameron Teague Robinson, The Athletic

Ryan Day thinks an Ohio State vs. Michigan rematch in the national championship would be ‘historic’
Stephen Means, cleveland.com

Social Media Reaction from Ohio State Players, Others as the Buckeyes Earn a College Football Playoff Berth Against Georgia
Garrick Hodge, Eleven Warriors

If he’s back close to 100%, it’s a completely different situation for the Buckeyes


Underdog role could help Ohio State find its best in Playoff (paywall)
Bill Landis, Dotting the Eyes

Ohio State football envying Georgia, chasing Michigan and living the underdog life
Nathan Baird, cleveland.com

For the Ohio State Buckeyes, College Football Playoff karma comes around
Doug Lesmerises, cleveland.com

Buckeyes must simplify and play loose to reach ultimate goal
Rob Oller, The Columbus Dispatch

Not. Done. Yet!


Why CFP committee kept Buckeyes below TCU in final rankings
Joey Kaufman, The Columbus Dispatch

Five Things to Know About Georgia Before Ohio State Takes on the Defending National Champion in the College Football Playoff
Griffin Strom, Eleven Warriors

Michigan football: Ohio State rematch ‘would be truly a blessing,’ J.J. McCarthy says
Robbie Weinstein, 247Sports

How much Ohio State coaches are seeing in bonuses from CFP berth
Joey Kaufman, The Columbus Dispatch

Here for all of this!

Before the Announcement


‘Ball Hell Broke Loose: Championship Week chaos abounded
Jami Jurich, Land-Grant Holy Land

Ohio State has likely made the College Football Playoff, and the internet is mad about it
Gene Ross, Land-Grant Holy Land

While this was our CFP announcement preview show, there’s some good discussions in here about the Buckeyes’ matchup with Georgia, and potentially against Michigan:


Ask LGHL: Should Ohio State fans want the Buckeyes to make the College Football Playoff?
Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land

LGHL Asks: Do Ohio State fans want the Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff?
Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land

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Game Notes: No. 4 Ohio State women’s basketball laments poor win at Rutgers
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Ohio State University athletic department

A win’s a win for the Buckeyes, but there's a lot of lessons in their first Big Ten game of the season

Sunday, the Ohio State Buckeyes women’s basketball team traveled to Piscataway, New Jersey for their first Big Ten conference game of the season. What began as a Buckeyes rout stalled, becoming a close game that the final scoreline doesn’t necessarily support. Here’s what to take away from the 82-70 Buckeyes win over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

No Jacy Sheldon


Following the Thursday game at No. 18 Louisville Cardinals, starting point guard Jacy Sheldon, who played 38 minutes, scoring a season-high 22 points, said she felt great.

The guard played great on the court against Louisville, but Sunday she was out again. Again listed as day-to-day, no Sheldon was evident on the court. How long will the injury stay day-to-day? Will Sheldon return for the Buckeyes' next Big Ten game, Sunday against the Michigan State Spartans?

Michigan State, on paper, gives Ohio State more of a challenge than Rutgers. Since Sheldon’s injury surfaced, the games she’s missed have been against teams that shouldn’t challenge the Scarlet & Gray, with Sunday’s closer win being the nerviest result of the three.

Rebeka Mikulášiková and Taylor Mikesell Save the Day


Scoring 74% of all Buckeye points on Sunday was forward Rebeka Mikulášiková and guard Taylor Mikesell.

From the tip, Mikesell was dangerous, but into the second half, Mikulášiková began hitting layup after layup in the paint and surpassed the guard in points in the fourth quarter. With Rutgers surging near the end of the second quarter and moving into the third, the Ohio State duo scored all 18 third-quarter points to keep the Buckeyes lead.

“We played good pick and roll together,” said Mikulášiková. “And find open options for either of us.”

The two complimented one another, each hitting a three in the third. Outside of their lone shots from beyond the arc, Mikesell hit floating layups outside of the paint and Mikulášiková used moves under the basket to find space and hit impressive layup after impressive layup.


It wasn’t a situation where one was pushing the other or trying to one-up each other, but a situation where it was all Ohio State had, offensively.

Of Ohio State’s 39 second-half points, 31 were from either Mikulášiková or Mikesell. The rest of the Buckeyes shot 3-for-11 from the floor.

Diagnosing the Issue


So what was the problem on Sunday? The game started in Ohio State’s favor, going up 14 in the first quarter and allowing only eight points for the home side in the first 10 minutes. Rutgers began the game slowly, hoping to limit the number of Buckeye possessions, and Ohio State battled through it, sped up the tempo of the game, and broke away.

“Great start overall but not a great performance overall,” said head coach Kevin McGuff. “We have to get a lot better than today.”

Coach McGuff cites a lack of effort throughout the entire 40 minutes as a symptom of Sunday’s performance. Without Sheldon, Ohio State’s press wasn’t nearly as effective, forcing 21 turnovers for Rutgers.

That sounds like a pretty good day for most teams, but the Scarlet Knights came into Sunday averaging 20.9 turnovers a game. The defensive full-court press was effective in small sprints, but not close to games like Tennessee or Louisville.

In terms of shooting, Rutgers' defensive zone allowed for Ohio State to send passes into the low block early. As that adjusted, only Mikulášiková had success getting up shots near the basket. The rest of Ohio State’s shooting was forced, settling for bad looks or attempts into traffic.

“Coming in on the road, you can’t walk into an arena, or a place like this, and play the way we did and win most nights,” said Mikesell. “And we know that. We’re going to get better and practice and be ready for the next game.”

Guards Limit Mistakes


A positive is in Ohio State’s turnovers. The Buckeyes had only 10 and in that total, zero came from guards Mikesell and Madison Greene.

Greene, who played all 40 minutes for the first time since returning from injury, didn’t have an active shooting night. She took six attempts, hitting half. However, Greene added seven assists and three steals, along with not giving up the ball once.

Those six points were impressive though.


If sloppiness hit the guard duo, the Buckeyes 8-0 record might be 7-1.

Big Ten Begins


Ohio State starts its 18-game conference season with a victory, albeit one with a lot of lessons to learn.

Even so, a game against Rutgers, even a side that’s rebuilding, is what happens in conference play. Teams up their game, especially Sunday on a day when they honored legendary coach C. Vivian Stringer, and that energy is going to line Big Ten games leading all the way through the end of the season.

Outside of Tennessee and Louisville, Ohio State’s had a genuinely easy walk through the season, to this point. Sunday’s closer win, still double-digits but tied for their lowest point margin of the season, could help push this team to a level fitting of their No. 4 AP poll ranking.

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I-70 Football Podcast: Two B1G teams in the College Football Playoffs
JordanW330 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

For the third time in nine seasons, one conference has two teams in the College Football Playoffs — but for the first time, it’s the Big Ten and not the SEC.

Welcome to a new episode of Land-Grant Holy Land’s I-70 podcast. On this show, we talk about all things Big Ten football and basketball. After every week of action, we will get you caught up on all the conference’s games and look ahead at the matchups, storylines, and players that you should be paying attention to in the next week. My name is Jordan Williams, and I am joined by my co-host Dante Morgan.

Listen to the episode and subscribe:


Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio

The Michigan Wolverines are your 2022 Big Ten Champions. Under Jim Harbaugh’s leadership, Michigan has won back-to-back Big Ten championships for the first time in over two decades. The Wolverines will now turn their sights to winning a national championship for the first time since 1985. Michigan, the No. 2 seed, is joined in the playoffs by bitter rival Ohio State, who claimed the No. 4 seed after USC lost to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Michigan will face No. 3 TCU in the Fiesta Bowl, while Ohio State travels to Atlanta to face Georgia in the Peach bowl.

In this episode of the I-70 Football Show, the guys discuss the importance of the Big Ten having two teams in the playoffs, which has only ever been done by the SEC. Collectively this was a down year for the B1G with only three teams ranked in the final top 25, but it was top-heavy as Penn State finished at No. 11 and will take on Utah in the Rose Bowl. Overall, nine Big Ten teams reached a bowl game, as Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Purdue and Wisconsin joined the other three in the postseason.

The guys get into their favorite matchups this bowl season and what a 12-team playoff would look like today. Dante and Jordan also discussed some of the recent news in the Big Ten, such as Jim Leonhard staying on at Wisconsin while former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara is transferring to Iowa. Lastly, Jordan won the picks competition with a final record of 82-24, as Dante ended in a close second with a 79-27 overall record.


Connect with us on Twitter:

Jordan: @JordanW330

Dante: @DanteM10216

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Tut from LSU here wishing you well against the Georgia Bullfrogs. Also due to some serious breaches of commonly accepted conduct I encourage your coaches to reach out to CBK at LSU for all our tapes and info on Georgia, we did score 30 on them with missed FG and forth and inches at 5 we screwed up. So should have been 40. I think you wiIl find Tennessee willing to help you out too. Bullfrogs have gotten too big for their britches as we say down here and deserve a good ass kicking

‘Ball Hell Broke Loose: Championship Week chaos abounded
JamiJurich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

The conference championships have been decided, and the Buckeyes aren’t out yet

The Buckeyes’ playoff fate hung in the balance heading into this weekend coming off last week’s loss to Michigan. But as it turns out, enough chaos unfolded in the last 72 hours that not only did our beloved Bucks make the playoffs as the No. 4 seed, but there is the possibility of vengeance against TTUN in the biggest game of the year.

Stop to consider – what if The Game were the National Championship game? (I think I personally deserve this as the Natty is on my birthday mere blocks from my apartment, so I will need OSU to do me a favor and beat Georgia in the first round).

How did we go from outside looking in to back on the inside without setting foot on the field? Let’s unpack this week’s conference championships.


Utah v. USC — Pac-12 Championship Game

Buckeye fans like myself were face first in a bowl of guac thinking our playoff hopes were all but over. There was no way USC would lose to Utah AGAIN right? RIGHT?

Utah decided to throw us a bone and curb stomp the Trojans, 47-24, to become the Pac-12 Champs. USC took an early 17-3 lead, and then Utah’s defense found its groove, rattling the Trojans and tying it up before heading into the half. By the end of the game, Caleb Williams was basically hobbling around after being smacked around for two quarters. He’s not a Heisman contender for nothing though – he was still in it to win it. But USC as a whole never really got its mojo back after the half, and Utah’s hunger proved too much.

I do still think Williams will win the Heisman, but maybe take my predictions with a grain of salt, because I would have predicted that USC would be out for blood on Friday, both to avenge their Oct. 15 loss to the Utes and to seal a playoff berth. Instead, they cracked the door for the Buckeyes.


Kansas State v. TCU — Big-12 Championship Game

The chaos continued, and the Buckeyes’ playoff door opened wider when the Horned Frogs – who went into this game undefeated – lost in overtime to Kansas State, 31-28. That’s right, the three-loss Wildcats handed the Horned Frogs their only loss of the season.

It came down to inches — six to be exact. That’s how short TCU fell in its attempt to punch in an overtime touchdown. To be honest, it’s remarkable that such a small margin made the difference when TCU had been basically tossed down a well earlier in the game. Even with the loss, these Horned Frogs proved they deserve to be in the playoffs if for no other reason than they clawed their way out of that well to tie it up. Max Duggan rallied his team when it wasn’t looking good, and even though they didn’t come away with the win, it made it hard to ignore this team.

And knowing what we know now, that this TCU team is Michigan’s next opponent, aren’t we all Horned Frogs fans at the moment?


Clemson v. North Carolina — ACC Championship

This game was boring. As expected, Clemson won, 39-10. They are still not a playoff-caliber team, especially after losing to South Carolina to pick up their second loss of the year. Next.


LSU v. Georgia – SEC Championship

Oh sweet LSU. I was rooting for you. We were all rooting for you. And you really did try. But this game was pretty much all Georgia all the time, with Stetson Bennett leading the undefeated Dawgs to a 50-30 victory with a season-high four touchdown passes. LSU didn’t do itself any favors. There was a messy missed field goal that Georgia returned for a touchdown because the Tigers didn’t realize the ball was live.

Then Christopher Smith, who had already returned that missed field goal for a 96-yard Bulldog touchdown, deflected an LSU pass off the helmet of an LSU receiver, leading to an interception.

By the time LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels re-injured his ankle late in the second quarter, Georgia had already established dominance. Backup quarterback Garrett Nussmeier did everything he could to keep the Tigers in the game, but it wasn’t enough, with the Dawgs proving why they hold the No. 1-seed going into the playoffs.

The bad news for them? The Buckeyes are hungry for a rematch against TTUN, and they have to go through Georgia to get it.


Purdue v. Michigan – Big 10 Championship

When TTUN wins, we don’t acknowledge it here in Buckeye Country, except for how it pertains to us. This time, their 43-22 win over the Boilermakers means that with one more win apiece, the Buckeyes could potentially rematch the Wolverines for THE most important game: The Natty.

Beyond that, we don’t discuss Wolverine wins, so I won’t be adding anything further.


Honorable Chaotic Mention:

This insane post from ESPN that drags Alabama in the pettiest way, and FOR WHAT? Made my whole day. Still laughing. Hope you are too.


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enjoy

Hangout in the Holy Land Podcast: Ohio State set to take on Georgia in the College Football Playoff
Gene Ross 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

Welp, Buckeyes are back...

The latest episode of Land-Grant Holy Land’s flagship podcast ‘Hangout in the Holy Land’ is here! Join LGHL’s co-managing editor Gene Ross alongside his co-host Josh Dooley as they cover everything from football to basketball to recruiting and more!

Listen to the episode and subscribe:

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Despite appearing like Ohio State’s season came to an end last weekend against Michigan, the Buckeyes got some much-needed help and have actually snuck into the College Football Playoff as the No. 4 seed, where they are set to take on Georgia in the Peach Bowl on New Years Eve. With Clemson and Tennessee both suffering loses to South Carolina and USC getting blown out by Utah in the Pac-12 title game, it opened the door for the Buckeyes to make the CFP as the only remaining one-loss team with a good enough resume. Ryan Day and his team now have a chance at redemption.

“Hangout in the Holy Land” will be posting two episodes per week during the regular season, with an episode before and after each Ohio State game to give you all the preview and recap content you may need. Be sure to download and listen in wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review on Apple to let us know your thoughts and how we can make things even better!

You can also follow us on Twitter @HolyLandPod, where we will want to hear from you guys even more! If there’s anything you’d like us to talk about on the show, @ us and let us know!

As always, Go Bucks.


Connect with the Podcast:
Twitter: @HolyLandPod

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Twitter: @Gene_Ross23

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Twitter: @jdooleybuckeye

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No. 4 Ohio State women’s basketball holds on to beat Rutgers 82-70
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Ohio State University athletic department

In a game that looked like a blowout, Rutgers battled back but two Buckeyes came up big

Sunday, the Big Ten calendar began for the No. 4 Ohio State women’s basketball team. On the schedule was the lone regular season match-up against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. It was a momentous day for Rutgers off the court, celebrating legendary coach C. Vivian Stringer, who led the Knights from 1995-2022.

On the court, Ohio State went ahead big early, but Rutgers fought back to make it interesting. In the end, Buckeyes still pull out the 82-70 win.

Before any of the ceremony began, Ohio State had a storyline of their own develop when news broke that senior guard Jacy Sheldon was not in the starting lineup this afternoon. She was out with a lower leg injury, the same one that kept Sheldon out for the two games leading into her start against No. 18 Louisville Cardinals. In her place was junior guard Madison Greene.

It was Greene who started the scoring for Ohio State too. After a slow few minutes for both sides, Greene hit a layup that was the cornerstone of the Buckeyes first quarter offense. Of the Scarlet & Gray’s 20 first-quarter points, eight came inside the paint. Ohio State adjusted to Rutger’s zone defense and began to throw passes under the basket for higher-percentage looks.

Just over halfway into the first quarter, forward Cotie McMahon grabbed an impressive assist. Attacking the basket herself, McMahon found a wide open Taylor Thierry who easily put in one of her two shots made in the first 10 minutes of today’s game.

On Rutger’s end of the court, they did what they could to slow the game down and limit turnovers. The home side went deep into their shot clock and their roster, playing all eight players in the first quarter alone. While the game slowed, the Buckeyes still forced turnovers, grabbing six in the first quarter.

Ohio State didn’t take their time scoring in the second quarter. Within two minutes, the Buckeyes scored 10, shooting their lead up to 20 points thanks to guard Taylor Mikesell and forward Rebeka Mikulášiková. Both hit two shots apiece, with both shots from Mikesell were from distance.

To the home team’s credit, their game lifted in the second quarter in front of Stringer. Rutgers didn’t let the Ohio State lead increase after the early push. The Scarlet Knights started moving the pace a bit faster, and found quick passes to break out of Ohio State’s full-court pressure.

The Buckeyes’ defense stayed strong, and the defensive play of the quarter came at the hands of McMahon and Greene. Rutgers forced a turnover and they went on a two-player break. McMahon used her court-shortening speed to catch up and force a pass. On that pass, Greene was waiting, stopping guard Abby Streeter from getting a layup off.

Leading the scoring in the second quarter was Mikesell. Of her 19 first half points, 12 came in the second where she put the Buckeyes offense on her back. Mikesell was perfect in her three three-point attempts, going 5-for-6 overall in the quarter. Ohio State entered halftime up 43-28.

At the end of the second quarter, Rutgers guard Kaylene Smikle hit a buzzer-beating three and the Scarlet Knights kept that momentum moving into the second half. Head coach Coquese Washington’s side extended that three into a 14-7 run into the second half of the third quarter, bringing Ohio State's lead down to nine, their first single-digit lead since the first quarter.

Although Rutgers stifled the Buckeyes a bit in the third quarter, Mikesell and Mikulášiková kept Ohio State in the game. The two accounted for all 18 of OSU’s points in the third quarter, with the rest of the team shooting a combined 0-for-7. Mikesell and Mikulášiková split the points down the middle with nine each in the 11:16-minute stretch of game minutes where only the two scored.

Part of that third quarter was a potential injury concern three minutes into the quarter. Thierry went up for a rebound and Smikle was fouled by the Buckeyes forward, going to the ground. Smikle landed on Thierry’s arm, and she didn’t react negatively to Smikle landing on her, but left the court soon after the fall for precautionary reasons. Fortunately for Ohio State, Thierry returned and so did their double-digit lead, entering the final quarter up 61-49.

The Mikulášiková and Mikesell show continued into the fourth, scoring nine of Ohio State’s first 10 points of the quarter.

Maybe it was the the emotions of the day, but Rutgers didn’t look like the team they’ve been entering Sunday. The home side kept up the scoring with the Buckeyes and never allowed Ohio State to put their foot slightly off the gas like they did against the Cardinals.

With 2:22 left in the game, center Kossandra Brown hit her second three of the game. This time, in the fourth quarter, it put Rutgers back within eight points.

Ohio State needed a response, and going into the timeout Greene did that, hitting a layup running through defenders in the lane to put the lead back up over 10 points.

The Buckeyes were able to hold on, and it was with forcing turnovers. After attacking the basket and hitting free throws, Ohio State held on to win, 82-70.

Taylor Mikesell Rises Above


Each game this season, a different Buckeye’s had their chance to make a lasting impact on a game. Mikesell is always in the conversation, and each game seems to create moments that push Ohio State forward. On Sunday, Mikesell didn’t have moments — instead, the whole game was her moment.

Mikesell’s stats were above her season averages, but off the stat sheet her play lifted teammates. Not only was Mikesell scoring and hitting shots from deep but creating space for teammates, increasing the defensive pressure, grabbing the ball away from Rutgers under the basket and leading Ohio State on the court in leadership and scoring.

Mikulášiková Keeps Up with Mikesell


It’s difficult to keep up with Mikesell when she’s firing on all cylinders, but on Sunday Rebeka Mikulášiková did just that.

The forward was hitting her shots within the paint, making moves under the basket to score 31 points, a new career high after scoring 23 against North Alabama a week ago. Even eclipsing Mikesell who scored 30 on the day.

Honoring C. Vivian Stringer


Although she wore a different scarlet than the Buckeyes, legendary NCAA coach Stringer was the focal point before the game Sunday. On a day they named the court after the famous coach, the first black coach to achieve the illustrious 1000-win mark, the three-time coach of the year and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, received an ovation from home fans and Ohio State on Sunday.

It was an ovation for someone worthy of such recognition. Rutgers University honored her with a court design replica using a piece of the actual court before the tip.

In an emotional halftime speech, Stringer began talking but couldn’t find the words, overcome with emotion:

“I think my team always knows that when I’m overwhelmed, I just cry,” said Stringer. “I love you.”

What’s Next


No. 4 Ohio State (8-0) plays two games in the next week, both at home. Up first is the University of New Hampshire in an early 11:00 a.m. ET game on Thursday. After the brief break from conference play, the Buckeyes welcome the Michigan State Spartans on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. ET. Ohio State’s game against MSU will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.

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Begrudgingly hailing the Big Ten champions
David M Wheeler via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

Reflections of a Buckeye fan on championship weekend while the Bucks sit idly by.

Championship weekend


I must say that I wasn’t really looking forward to this weekend. After the second half of last week’s game, about the only thing that I was looking forward to was next season. But then, on Friday night, the Trojans couldn’t hold their playoff spot, getting stomped by Utah 47-24, and it appeared that the College Football Playoffs selection might be chaotic enough to give Ohio State one more chance.

I had been traveling all week, so it was good to sit in front of the tube and take in a full day’s worth of sports, starting with the World Cup. Defensive lapses cost the U.S. that one, and it was on to the Big 12 championship. It was a game that left me wondering why TCU head coach Sonny Dykes would choose to try for the touchdown on fourth down of his overtime possession, rather than take the field goal. And, given that decision, why he didn’t run a play for quarterback Max Duggan, who had brought the Frogs back into the game. Bad decisions. Kansas State 31, TCU 28.

I live in Savannah, smothered by UGa flags, bulldogs, and obnoxious zealots. But we all know that Georgia is good – really good – and has been for several years now. LSU played a decent game, but this one belonged to the Dawgs all the way. During the matchup, I texted my brother in Columbus, asking him if he’d like to see the Buckeyes taking on Kirby Smart’s boys. His silence was all the answer I needed.

At last, the Big Ten Championship game


Dinner was over. The dishes washed and put away. A couple of ACC teams were playing on another channel, and I was hoping against hope that Jim Harbaugh would take a loss. As TTUN scored on its first possession, I realized that I didn’t care all that much. If OSU didn’t win the B1G, then it didn’t matter who did. But I was committed to watching it. Eighteenth-century Irish philosopher Bishop George Berkeley argued that the only way we know something, with “certitude” (his word), is to perceive it with our senses. (Yes, yes, the tree falling in the woods.) I figured I’d better keep the game on, or it wouldn’t exist.

When I woke up, it was halftime, and the sound had been thoughtfully muted. Michigan led, but only by a point, 14-13. For a brief time, I was rejuvenated.

The second half


Then came the second half, a half that we had seen before against the Buckeyes. Michigan has been a second-half team all season. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the halftime adjustments of the coaching staff, and that might be the case, especially with their defense. The offense, on the other hand, seems simply to wear down opposing defensive lines as the game progresses, gaining more and more yards on the ground, exploding for big plays, breaking the foes’ wills.

The Wolverines put up 29 points in the second half, including a two-point conversion on the third TD. The Boilermakers managed three scores of their own – all field goals. Final score: 43-22. Very much a replay of their win at The Shoe.

Purdue’s Aiden O’Connell, a very good passing quarterback, had a pretty big night. Despite being sacked four times, he hit 32 of his 47 passes (68%) for 366 yards. But there were no touchdown tosses, and he was picked off twice. The Boilermakers, in fact, had more total yards than UM – 456-386 – and more first downs. They had the ball longer, by more than seven minutes. But they lost the game. And it wasn’t close.

Michigan’s formula for victory was the same as the week before. Prevent big plays from the opponent. Hold them to field goal attempts, rather than touchdowns. And create some big plays of their own. Purdue had six drives that resulted in points. But there was only one touchdown, to go with the five field goals. While the Boilermakers did have a number of plays for longer than 20 yards, the longest being a 32-yard pass play, they didn’t go all the way. There was always a blue-clad safety, and he always made the play.

On the other side of the ball, there was Donovan Edwards carrying the ball. He didn’t break the 200-yard mark, as he did against the Buckeyes, but he racked up 185 yards on his 27 carries. Quick through big holes, then turn on the jets. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy again was solid, without being spectacular. As a passer, he’s no C.J. Stroud. Nor is he an Aiden O’Connell. But he reeled off a 9.5-yard average for his 17 passing attempts, threw three TD passes, and had only one interception. This balanced offensive attack moved the ball down the field and put it over the goal line. Michigan, too, had six scores. But, in their case, they were all touchdowns.

The playoff picture on Selection Sunday


So now we know. With USC’s devasting loss, the Buckeyes are in the playoffs, facing Georgia on New Year’s Eve. The team deserves the slot, and I relish the opportunity for the Bucks. Beating the Bulldogs in Atlanta won’t be easy, by any means. But remember 2014? The Buckeyes seemingly “stole” a spot to get into the playoffs, got seeded No. 4, and beat No. 1 Alabama on the way to the national championship. It could happen again.

And, of course, we get to see C.J. Stroud for at least one more game. Maybe TreVeyon Henderson and even Jaxon Smith-Njigba. We haven’t really witnessed a full-strength OSU team all year. LSU moved the ball through the air fairly easily yesterday. And the Buckeyes have far more firepower. New Year’s Eve offers an opportunity for redemption and for achievement. Let’s get it done. Go Bucks!

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Ohio State sneaks into the College Football Playoff at No. 4
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Buckeyes aren’t dead after all...

Well, well, well...

After Ohio State fans spent the last week picking up the pieces from the Buckeyes’ loss to Michigan and trying to figure out what comes next, it turns out there is still meaningful football left to be played. On Friday night, USC suffered its second loss of the season in a beatdown at the hands of Utah in the Pac-12 title game, opening the door for C.J. Stroud and company to get another shot at redemption and backdoor their way into the College Football Playoff. With two losses, few real signature wins and one of the worst statistical defensive units in the country, the Trojans have been superseded by the Buckeyes in the season’s final rankings.

As a result, the College Football Playoff will officially look as follows:

1. Georgia
2. Michigan
3. TCU
4. Ohio State

Ohio State now has a chance to set up the biggest edition of The Game in the storied history of the rivalry if the two teams meet in the national title, but they will first have to get past the defending champion Georgia Bulldogs. Despite losing a ton of talent to the NFL Draft after last year, Georgia once again features the nation’s top defense, allowing just 11.3 points per game to lead all of FBS. The Buckeyes will be hoping to get healthy over the next month in the lead up to the game, and getting guys like Miyan Williams, TreVeyon Henderson and maybe even Jaxon Smith-Njigba back on the field could go a long way in beginning Ryan Day’s redemption arc.

The other game will pit Big Ten Champion Michigan against Big 12 runner-up TCU. The Horned Frogs were undefeated heading into their conference title game against Kansas State, and despite the best efforts of Heisman candidate QB Max Duggan, fell just short to the Wildcats in overtime by a score of 31-28. The Wolverines, now officially without star RB Blake Corum the rest of the way, defeated Purdue in Indianapolis to secure their second-straight B1G title after knocking off the Buckeyes in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1999-2000. J.J. McCarthy and Donovan Edwards will look to lead UM to its first national title since 1997.

As of Sunday morning, here were the betting odds for the College Football Playoff, courtesy of the DraftKings Sportsbook:

To win the National Title

• Georgia -130
• Michigan +300
• Ohio State +330
• TCU +1500

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

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Buckeyes are in the playoffs, and will have to knock off the defending champs in Atlanta to have a chance at TTUN.

We’ll talk about this later: The Fyre Festival of basketball tournaments
Meredith Hein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Your dose of lighthearted takes from last week.

Each week, we’ll break down something that happened during the Ohio State game (and occasionally other games) that we’ll be talking about for a while—you know, the silly sideline interactions, the awful announcing and the weird storylines that stick with us for years to come. We’ll also compare each of these happenings to memorable moments in pop culture, because who doesn’t love a good Office reference?

If your favorite basketball team went to something called the “Las Vegas Invitational” featuring elite women’s hoops programs from across the country, you might expect a little glitz and glamour that comes with hosting an event in such a city. You might even envision, in this era of sports betting and NIL, some sort of promotions around the players present at the tournament. In a year when the Las Vegas Aces won their first WNBA title, you’d also expect that there would be some pageantry associated with this historic event.


At a minimum, you would expect the barebones required to play a basketball game: a court, a scorer’s table, a scoreboard and a ball. And probably that it would take place in a room built for a sporting event.

Well, they had a court, a scorer’s table, a scoreboard and a ball at the Las Vegas Invitational, a women’s basketball tournament featuring nine Division I women’s hoops teams over Thanksgiving weekend. But that was about it.

And it took place in a ballroom.


The photos are absurd. It looks like the organizers rapidly shifted from an orthopaedic surgery conference to a basketball tournament, complete with the never-show-dirt carpet and tray ceilings. It’s certainly not the arrangement one might expect for a team like Indiana, a top-5 ranked undefeated team which traveled across the country for this.

Organized by Bryce McKee, this was sold as a high-end event. McKee is a former women’s basketball assistant coach who was accused of making sexual advances toward multiple players. For a horrifying example of an assault on women in action, check out this article. It is terrible and beyond the scope of this piece, but had to be mentioned.

However, the event was poorly organized, had limited attendance for fans (because, again, it was a ballroom with two rows of folding chairs for seating) and even required players to bring their own towels.

With all the promises and absolute underwhelming results, the Las Vegas Invitational was the Fyre Festival of basketball tournaments. A classic example of over promise, under deliver.


As Thomas Costello and I discussed on the Play Like a Girl podcast last week, the tournament was a failure for other reasons that impacted player safety. At one point, Auburn Tigers forward Kharyssa Richardson was injured. The organizers took nearly 40 minutes to get her medical attention.

Indiana head coach Teri Moren did not mince words on what she thought of the tournament, so we’ll end with her thoughts:


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LGHL Uncut Podcast: Holtmann, Okpara, Holden discuss Ohio State’s win over St. Francis
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

The Buckeyes beat the brakes off of St. Francis during the second half of Saturday’s route.

Throughout the season, Land-Grant Holy Land will be bringing you uncut audio primarily from Ohio State press conferences, but also from individual interview sessions.

Listen to the episode and subscribe:

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If you missed Saturday’s game between the No. 25 Ohio State Buckeyes and the St. Francis Red Flash, that’s okay, we don’t blame you. Not even 72 hours after the Duke game and amidst all kind of college football hysteria, even I nearly forgot the Buckeyes had a noon tipoff against one of the statistically worst teams in the nation.

The Buckeyes didn’t light the world on fire during the first half, carrying just an eight-point lead into halftime. But they outscored St. Francis 52-23 in the second half en route to a 96-59 win Saturday afternoon in Columbus.

Felix Okpara, who set career highs in points, rebounds, and steals, as well as scoring his first career double-double, spoke with the media about knocking down his first career three-pointer as well as what he thinks he brings to the team coming off the bench behind Zed Key. Tanner Holden discussed the team’s defensive ceiling, as well as his adjustment from the Horizon League to the Big Ten.

Holtmann discussed the stark turnaround between halves, crediting the change to better effort on the defensive end. He also spoke about Okpara’s big day, and how important it will be for Brice Sensabaugh to not let struggles on the offensive end carry over to the defensive end and vice versa.


Connect with Connor:
Twitter: @lemons_connor

Theme music provided by www.bensound.com

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Game Preview: No. 4 Ohio State women’s basketball at Rutgers
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Buckeyes open up the Big Ten calendar with a lunch-time away game against the Scarlet Knights

It’s been an exciting week for the Ohio State women’s basketball team. Guard Jacy Sheldon returned from an injury, fellow guard Rikki Harris played her best game of the season and Ohio State traveled to Louisville and overcame a 14-point deficit to beat the No. 18 Louisville Cardinals 97-77. To ice the cake, Big Ten play begins against a team that’s at the start of a rebuild in the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

It has the makings of another double-digit Ohio State win, but conference play has a way of motivating teams.

Preview


Ohio State and Rutgers are on two vastly different trajectories to their season. The Buckeyes sit comfortably at 7-0, while the Scarlet Knights have a tough 4-5 record. Rutgers is a team going under extreme renovations.

It starts within the coaching staff. Legendary head coach C. Vivian Stringer, who’s being honored at Sunday’s game, led Rutgers since 1995 before retiring in March of this season. Now at the helm is former Big Ten championship-winning coach Coquese Washington.

Washington, formerly at the helm of the Penn State Nittany Lions for three conference regular season titles between 2007-2019, rejoined the head coaching ranks after being an assistant since 2019. The former Notre Dame graduate and WNBA player inherited a team with only three returners, and a lot of work to do in rebuilding the program.

An interesting thing to note about the Scarlet Knights roster is its size. Not talking about heights and wing-spans. No, the number of players. Rutgers touts an eight-player roster. Of those eight, two are freshman and three transferred into the program this season. That means there’s a lot of chemistry to build.

All three returners began the season starting all nine games. So far, the Scarlet Knights sit last in the conference in points per game (63.2), second to last in points allowed (70.8) and a statistic that’ll be most concerning for Rutgers on Sunday: turnovers.

Ohio State’s 29 average forced turnovers per game is No. 1 in the entire country. For Rutgers, with its team make-up and adjusting to the first year of a new coach, their 20.9 turnovers given up per game has the potential to add a couple points in the Buckeyes’ favor.

Even so, there’s talent on the Rutgers roster, especially at guard. Senior Awa Sidibe, a former NJCAA athlete, and freshman Kaylene Smikle are the two to watch offensively. Smikle joined Rutgers after winning Pennsylvania’s Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year award in 2021-22, and so far she hasn’t started, but she’s produced.

Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Kaylene Smikle takes a lot of shots and covers a lot of the court.

Smikle leads the Knights with 13.3 points per game, all off the bench. For Sidibe, she’s a threat in scoring and grabbing boards. Sidibe’s started the season scoring 10.8 points and securing 6.3 rebounds per game.

Projected Lineups

Lineup Notes:

• Forward Cotie McMahon’s six minutes on Wednesday is the lowest of her young freshman NCAA career for a single game.
• Five players on the Buckeyes average double figures in points per game.
• Forward Rebeka Mikulášiková, who won two Big Ten Honor Rolls this season, leads the Buckeyes with 18.1 points per game.

Lineup Notes

• Kassondra Brown began the year on the bench, but’s started the last three games for Rutgers.
• Antonia Bates is Rutgers other freshman guard who isn’t as prolific of a scorer as Smikle, but leads the team with 13 blocks.

Prediction


On paper, this looks like a game that the Buckeyes can control from the jump. Ohio State has the experience, and both times they faced teams with heavy transfers and new looks — Tennessee and Louisville — the Buckeyes came out on top.

Rutgers won’t have an answer for the Scarlet & Gray’s intense press on defense. The team who forces the most turnovers against the side who gives up the most is a recipe the Buckeye defense should enjoy.

The only way that the Buckeyes fall is if their shooting goes cold. So far this season though, Ohio State hasn’t let the opponent get in the way of the motivation to win and win big.

Forward Cotie McMahon, who sat most of the game against Louisville with head coach Kevin McGuff wanting experience on the court, could see this game as an example of what she can bring to the table. Playing only six minutes against the ranked Cardinals side is a good motivator in that department.

How to Watch


Date: Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Where: Jersey Mikes Arena - Piscataway, New Jersey
Television: B1G Network
Stream: FOX Sports with a B1G Network subscription

LGHL Prediction: 98-63 Ohio State Buckeyes

Beats for the Unbeaten


The Buckeyes had an added bonus following their win against Louisville. Ohio’s own NBA superstar LeBron James rewarded the entire women’s basketball team this week.

James gave everyone a pair XX James shoes and scarlet and gray custome Beats by Dre headphones, with a shiny Burger King-esque crown for good measure. The future Hall of Famer also gave the team a note:


It’s say to say the ladies were excited.


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In Conversation Podcast: Ohio State is in! Previewing the playoff selections, seedings
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

The four teams are practically guaranteed at this point, but the order is not.

On Land-Grant Holy Land In Conversation, we talk to people in and around Ohio State athletics, and the sporting world at large, to bring you a different insight and perspective to the teams, athletes, and university that you love.

Listen to the episode and subscribe:

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Even before the Big Ten Championship Game kicked off last night, the four teams were essentially confirmed for the College Football Playoff. Matt Tamanini and Jordan Williams agreed that it will be Georgia at No. 1, Michigan at No. 2, and then Ohio State and TCU will jostle for the No. 3 spot.

In this special episode, the guys talk about what might come into play for the CFP committee when they decide which order the Frogs and Buckeyes will be seeded. Does avoiding a rematch put the Buckeyes in fourth? Or does giving the Dawgs the best possible draw put TCU at No. 4?

In addition, Matt and Jordan also discuss what Ryan Day, his staff, and his squad need to do in order to win their semifinal matchup — against whichever opponent they draw — and move on to the championship game. How much do the elements of revenge and surprise play into things for the Buckeyes if they match up with the Wolverines first?

After UGA beat up on LSU, why does Jordan feel so confident about Ohio State’s chances against the defending national champs? Get answers to all of these questions and more in the podcast.


Connect with Jordan Williams
Twitter: @JordanW330

Connect with Matt Tamanini
Twitter: @BWWMatt

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No. 25 Ohio State men use explosive second half to beat St. Francis 96-59
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

The first half was underwhelming for OSU, but after halftime, the Buckeyes poured it on.

After a brief foray into power-five competition over the past two weeks, the No. 25 Ohio State Buckeyes (6-2) returned home Saturday afternoon to face off with the St. Francis (PA) Red Flash (2-7) at the Schottenstein Center. St. Francis struggled last season to the tune of a 9-21 record and hasn’t exactly set the world on fire this season either, winning just two games over the first month of the season. KenPom has them as the No. 331 team in the nation (out of 363).

Ohio State, on the other hand, is coming off of a 2-2 stretch against four teams all inside KemPom’s top 75, including three teams who were ranked in the AP Poll at the time of the game. The Buckeyes secured wins over Cincinnati and Texas Tech in Maui, while losing to San Diego State on the island and falling to the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor just three days ago.

To the surprise of very few, Ohio State bounced back with a win over an extremely overmatched Red Flash squad in front of a sparse, sleepy crowd at the Schottenstein Center this afternoon. In all actuality this game was over as soon as the ball was tipped, but after some first-half frustrations, the Buckeyes turned it on down the stretch and walked away victorious, 96-59. Ohio State outscored their opponent 52-23 after the break.

Ohio State went with the same lineup they’ve been rolling with all season: Bruce Thornton, Sean McNeil, Justice Sueing, Isaac Likekele, and Zed Key. Rob Krimmel’s St. Francis squad started Marlon Hargis, Cam Gregory, Maxwell Land, Landon Moore, and Josh Cohen.

The Buckeyes overwhelmed St. Francis from the jump, blitzing the Red Flash and going up 13-4 by the first media timeout just 4:29 into the game. The Buckeyes hit six of their first eight shots, including three layups from Likekele, who hasn’t been quite the offensive force in Columbus as he was when he played for Oklahoma State. Likekele finished with eight points, five rebounds, and three assists over 25 minutes.


However, while it looked like the Buckeyes may be on their way to an all-time blowout, St. Francis did not let it get there early on. Ohio State pushed the lead to 16 points early on, but the Red Flash went on a 9-3 run from the 11:42 mark to 8:41, getting back within 10 points, 30-20. The Ohio State offense was doing its job, but the Buckeyes’ defense was letting them down on the other end against one of the worst teams in the country.

What looked like a potential blowout didn’t play out that way at all in the first half, with Ohio State taking a 44-36 lead into the break. The Buckeyes dominated the first 10 minutes or so, but St. Francis was the better team for the rest of the opening stanza. Thornton led eight Ohio State scorers with 10 points in the first half and dished out two assists with no turnovers. Cohen and Land each had 12 points in the first half for the Red Flash.

The Buckeyes extended their lead to 19 points by the under-12 media timeout of the second half, 66-47. It’s safe to assume that Holtmann had some choice words with his men in the locker room at halftime about defense, as the Red Flash came out of the halftime break and shot 38.5 (5-13) over the first eight or so minutes — as opposed to the 55% they hit during the first half.

Things really got messy over the next five minutes between the second and third media timeouts, with the Buckeyes blowing the doors off the Red Flash (finally) and making it a 24-point game by the eight-minute mark. With seven-plus minutes remaining, Holtmann was running a lineup of Sensabaugh, Roddy Gayle, Likekele, Okpara, and Kalen Etzler in mop-up minutes.


By the time the final buzzer sounded, the Buckeyes had completed a bounce-back win over St. Francis. If you weren’t around to watch Ohio State’s sixth win of the season — or forgot they played a nooner today — here are some of the key moments that led to a big Buckeye victory:

How do you break a zone?


At the first media timeout about four minutes into the game, St. Francis head coach Rob Krimmel switched his team defense to a 2-3 zone after Ohio State began the game by knocking down six of their first eight shots. As the saying goes, you can either break a zone by shooting over it or getting to the middle of it. The Buckeyes went with the former, as Brice Sensabaugh — who had just checked in for Sueing — and Bruce Thornton immediately knocked down triples for the Buckeyes right over the top of SFU’s zone defense, making it 19-9 Ohio State just over five minutes into the game.

Red Flash makes a run, cuts it to eight


Ohio State opened up a 27-11 lead after eight minutes of play and it looked like the Buckeyes were on their way to running St. Francis off the floor before halftime. But that did not happen, as St. Francis outscored Ohio State 16-8 over the next 6:18, cutting the deficit in half from 16 points to just eight.

Sensabaugh’s tough stretch


There’s been some griping and questioning from some fans early on this season as to why Sensabaugh — the team’s second-leading scorer, is not starting and instead is playing just 18 minutes per game off the bench thus far. Well, a 17-second stretch late in the first half of today’s game shined a light on why Holtmann has yet to plug the talented freshman into the starting lineup.

With Ohio State leading 38-29 and just under five minutes remaining in the first half, Sensabaugh went for an open dunk along the baseline and completely whiffed. The ball slammed on the front of the rim and St. Francis’ Brad McCabe grabbed the rebound. Sensabaugh then fouled McCabe as he turned to run up the court — his first foul.

On the ensuring SFU possession, Sensabaugh found himself guarding the 6-foot-10 Cohen — St. Francis’ leading scorer — below the basket. The junior big man turned Sensabaugh into swiss cheese, mixing him up with two pivots and easily scoring over the top of the freshman.

A tough 17-second stretch all around for Sensabaugh, who still finished with a team-high 15 points on 4-10 shooting and was 4-4 at the free throw line.

Thornton’s hot hand


The freshman point guard established himself as a steady floor general over the first few games of the season, looking like he’d been in college much longer than he actually has been. However, Thornton rarely forced shots and averaged just four shot attempts over the first three games of the season. However, since Maui, Thornton has been more aggressively hunting his own shot and making teams pay for leaving him open.

After knocking down three three-pointers against Texas Tech two games ago, Thornton matched that against the Red Flash today in just 23 minutes on the floor. His three-pointer at the 18:28 mark of the second half was his third of the day, which gave him 13 points and the Buckeyes a 49-38 lead. Thornton entered the game shooting 47.6% from distance. He finished the game with 13 points on 5-10 shooting and 3-5 from 3-point range. He also dished out those two assists and had two rebounds.

Felix wants you to hit the weight room, respectfully


Freshman center Felix Okpara — the main backup to Key — has played more than some thought he would, considering how raw his offensive game is. However, in those 13 minutes per game, Okpara has shown flashes that he can be a real difference-maker and bring some juice to the Buckeyes, especially on the defensive end.

But today Okpara did it on both ends, stealing two passes and also scoring on a possession where he missed the shot, grabbed his own rebound, missed that layup, grabbed his own rebound again, and finally scored through contact. The 6-foot-11, 220-pound freshman’s three-point play gave Ohio State a 69-47 lead with 10:37 remaining in the game.

Okpara would later connect on his first career three-pointer with 3:31 remaining in the game to give Ohio State a 91-55 lead and also gave Okpara his first career double-double. Okpara finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds, two steals, and a block over 16 minutes. The points, rebounds, and steals were all career-highs for the freshman from Lagos, Nigeria.

Up Next:


No. 25 Ohio State (6-2) opens Big Ten play on Thursday, Dec. 8, welcoming the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-2) to Columbus for the first time in two seasons. Rutgers recently lost to Miami in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge, and will tangle with No. 10 Indiana later this afternoon. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. E.T. and will be broadcast on ESPN2.

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Might as well setup a game thread!

Ohio State has likely made the College Football Playoff, and the internet is mad about it
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Don’t be like Dan.


Ohio State was given an early Christmas present on Friday night when the Utah Utes trounced USC in the Pac-12 Championship Game by a final of 47-24. Lincoln Riley’s Trojans led 17-3 early in the second quarter and looked to be en route to a dominant victory that would easily lock up their spot in the College Football Playoff. Instead, Caleb Williams got banged up, and Utah would go on to outscore USC 44-7 the rest of the way. Now with two losses and no conference title to show for it, the Trojans will almost certainly be booted from the top four in favor of the Buckeyes in Sunday’s final rankings.

Of course, the timeline was immediately flooded with Ohio State fans thrilled that their team would now get a chance for redemption. On the flip side, there were also more than a fair share of Grinches upset that the Buckeyes will backdoor their way into the CFP after their showing against Michigan their last time out. While I understand the frustrations there, I am here to tell those people that they are mad at the wrong things.

The biggest complaint I've seen by annoying national media folk like Dan Wolken is that USC is being punished for playing an addition game against a highly-ranked opponent while Ohio State got to take the week off. On paper, this may seem true, but in this specific case there is more than meets the eye.

A quick look at USC’s resume and you will find that the Trojans were lucky to even be here in the first place. Their regular season schedule — one which saw them avoid both Oregon and Washington in-conference — doesn’t have a single ranked win until the last two weeks of the regular season, where they scored a three-point victory over UCLA (17th in the latest CFP rankings) and an 11-point win over Notre Dame (21st). They also had a previous loss to Utah (at the time 20th, now 11th) on the road, and several wins by one score to lesser opponents (Oregon State, Arizona and Cal) — although the Beavers went on to finish the season ranked as well (15th).

Let’s compare that to Ohio State. The Buckeyes feature an identical 11-point win over Notre Dame as the Trojans do, but add a 13-point victory over a Penn State team that is currently ranked No. 8 in the country. While the rest of their schedule isn’t exactly a murderers row, they took care of business in beating every team in their path by double-digits leading into the Michigan game. Their only loss, albeit a bad one, was to the current No. 2 team in the nation in the final contest of the regular season.

What about how these two teams actually stacked up on the field? Well, for all the hype about Lincoln Riley’s high-flying offense led by Caleb Williams, USC sits just one spot ahead of Ohio State nationally with the 5th-ranked total offense (499.8 YPG) to the Buckeyes’ 6th (492.7). OSU, in fact, is better in scoring offense, ranking 2nd in the country (44.5 PPG) ahead of USC two spots behind (41.1). Defensively, there is no competition. The Trojans were one of the worst defensive units in all of FBS, ranking 102nd overall allowing 415.1 yards per game. Ohio State, conversely, ranks 12th, allowing 303.9 yards per game.

So, it was arguably Ohio State who had the better resume heading into championship weekend. If USC had avenged their loss over Utah and won the Pac-12, they would be unequivocally ahead of the Buckeyes on Sunday. Instead, the Trojans failed to add that final bullet point to surpass OSU. This is not them being punished for playing an additional tough game, and those that are looking at it that way are seeing it from the wrong angle. This was USC’s chance to prove that they belonged in the CFP and that they weren’t just turnover luck merchants with a flashy QB. They didn’t get the job done.

Now, is there a chance that Ohio State gets blown out by Georgia in the first round if everything else goes according to plan? Absolutely! I still have zero faith in Ryan Day to adequately prepare his team for a big game and not shit his pants with awful play calls when times get tough. That being said, you should be mad at the system, not at the Buckeyes. There is simply no other team that has put itself in position to take that No. 4 spot, unless you want to reward a two-loss Alabama team without a single impressive win on the year. If roles were reversed, I bet you wouldn’t see as many people pining against the Tide to make the College Football Playoff.

At the end of the day, we won’t have to worry about any of this stuff once the College Football Playoff field expands to 12 teams in the not-so-distant future, so there’s really no use in getting worked up about it. Ohio State will either get a chance to knock off the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs or a shot to avenge its loss against Michigan — or perhaps both, if things break the right way! What they do with this opportunity remains to be seen, but as things stand the Buckeyes are the only team in the country with a real argument for that final spot.

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