ThomasCostello
Guest
Big Ten Tournament Game Preview: No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 2 UCLA
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images
The Buckeyes and Bruins meet again, with a spot in the Big Ten Tournament title game on the line.
It was touch and go for Ohio State women’s basketball Friday night in the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes faced an Iowa team that entered the postseason on a tear, and despite an off shooting night by freshman Jaloni Cambridge as well as head coach Kevin McGuff going to his infrequently used second bench forward, came away with a 60-59 victory.
The reward for the Buckeyes a Saturday matchup against center Lauren Betts and the UCLA Bruins in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal.
UCLA and Ohio State represented the bottom of the Big Ten bracket, and before the Buckeyes dispatched their rivals from Iowa City, the Bruins played the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a game closer than most people expected.
Nebraska freshman guard Britt Prince led the Huskers with a shooting clinic, going 9-of-15 from the field and 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Prince scored 24 points but it wasn’t enough to lead Big Red to victory. After heading into halftime down only two points to the conference regular season runners up, UCLA outscored Nebraska 44-35 in the second half.
Bruins’ 6-foot-7 center Betts scored 15 of UCLA’s second half points to cap off a one-sided performance in the paint. With Nebraska’s senior leader and post presence Alexis Markowski picking up early fouls, she played only 28 minutes before fouling. That gave Betts more room to work and led all scorers with 28 points on with 13 rebounds and five assists.
Now, Ohio State has to regroup quickly to play against a team that had the Buckeyes’ number back in February.
The Buckeyes lost 65-52 against the Bruins on Feb. 5 despite having a strong game plan against Betts. Ohio State avoided the trap most teams play into of double-teaming the big and letting her either find an outlet or score anyway. For most of three quarters, the Buckeyes played one-on-one with forward Ajae Petty center Elsa Lemmilä taking turns on the center. Instead of trying to stop a shot from Betts, Ohio State attempted to stop the ball from getting to her in the first place.
Ohio State was successful when they kept with the strategy in the first and third quarters. In the second, the plan was abandoned. Combine that with a season low 29.4 percent shooting and the Buckeyes went from tied against the Bruins in the first minute of the fourth quarter to a 13-point defeat.
That strategy can work against UCLA on Saturday, but the offensive side of the ball needs improving for the Scarlet and Gray to truly compete.
Friday against the Hawkeyes, the Buckeyes scored 60 points, the third lowest point total in a game this season. Freshman guard Jaloni Cambridge struggled to get out of her head following two early fouls. The explosive point guard never lit the fuse and shot 3-of-15 from the floor.
Forwards Cotie McMahon and Taylor Thierry led a resilient performance with 18 and 14 points respectively, the biggest two coming from McMahon from the free throw line with six seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
A silver lining Ohio State takes into Saturday is that the low-scoring win was something the Buckeyes have not achieved this season. Of the Buckeyes’ five losses this season, four came when the team failed to score 65 points. Ohio State’s 60 points is the lowest winning point total this season. It’s not the most glamorous or exciting statistic, but one that shows the Buckeyes are still fighting.
There were many times against Iowa where the Buckeyes from earlier this season would have crumbled and failed, but not Friday. Now, Ohio State will have to look past the star of Betts and play a combination of their high-powered offense and a defense that can bend but not break.
G- Jaloni Cambridge
G- Chance Gray
G- Taylor Thierry
F- Cotie McMahon
F- Ajae Petty
G- Kiki Rice
G- Londynn Jones
F- Gabriela Jaquez
F- Angela Dugalic
C- Lauren Betts
Ohio State will hit early three-point shots and have a strong performance beyond the arc, despite Betts excelling inside the paint. Jaloni Cambridge will shake off the rust of Friday night’s performance and come out with an inspired offensive performance to keep the game close, but the Bruins will be too much for the Buckeyes to overcome but in a closer ending than February in Los Angeles.
Date: Saturday, March. 8, 2025
Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Television: Big Ten Network
Stream: FOX Sports App
Continue reading...
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images
The Buckeyes and Bruins meet again, with a spot in the Big Ten Tournament title game on the line.
It was touch and go for Ohio State women’s basketball Friday night in the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes faced an Iowa team that entered the postseason on a tear, and despite an off shooting night by freshman Jaloni Cambridge as well as head coach Kevin McGuff going to his infrequently used second bench forward, came away with a 60-59 victory.
The reward for the Buckeyes a Saturday matchup against center Lauren Betts and the UCLA Bruins in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal.
Preview
UCLA and Ohio State represented the bottom of the Big Ten bracket, and before the Buckeyes dispatched their rivals from Iowa City, the Bruins played the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a game closer than most people expected.
Nebraska freshman guard Britt Prince led the Huskers with a shooting clinic, going 9-of-15 from the field and 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Prince scored 24 points but it wasn’t enough to lead Big Red to victory. After heading into halftime down only two points to the conference regular season runners up, UCLA outscored Nebraska 44-35 in the second half.
Bruins’ 6-foot-7 center Betts scored 15 of UCLA’s second half points to cap off a one-sided performance in the paint. With Nebraska’s senior leader and post presence Alexis Markowski picking up early fouls, she played only 28 minutes before fouling. That gave Betts more room to work and led all scorers with 28 points on with 13 rebounds and five assists.
Now, Ohio State has to regroup quickly to play against a team that had the Buckeyes’ number back in February.
The Buckeyes lost 65-52 against the Bruins on Feb. 5 despite having a strong game plan against Betts. Ohio State avoided the trap most teams play into of double-teaming the big and letting her either find an outlet or score anyway. For most of three quarters, the Buckeyes played one-on-one with forward Ajae Petty center Elsa Lemmilä taking turns on the center. Instead of trying to stop a shot from Betts, Ohio State attempted to stop the ball from getting to her in the first place.
Ohio State was successful when they kept with the strategy in the first and third quarters. In the second, the plan was abandoned. Combine that with a season low 29.4 percent shooting and the Buckeyes went from tied against the Bruins in the first minute of the fourth quarter to a 13-point defeat.
That strategy can work against UCLA on Saturday, but the offensive side of the ball needs improving for the Scarlet and Gray to truly compete.
Friday against the Hawkeyes, the Buckeyes scored 60 points, the third lowest point total in a game this season. Freshman guard Jaloni Cambridge struggled to get out of her head following two early fouls. The explosive point guard never lit the fuse and shot 3-of-15 from the floor.
Forwards Cotie McMahon and Taylor Thierry led a resilient performance with 18 and 14 points respectively, the biggest two coming from McMahon from the free throw line with six seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
A silver lining Ohio State takes into Saturday is that the low-scoring win was something the Buckeyes have not achieved this season. Of the Buckeyes’ five losses this season, four came when the team failed to score 65 points. Ohio State’s 60 points is the lowest winning point total this season. It’s not the most glamorous or exciting statistic, but one that shows the Buckeyes are still fighting.
There were many times against Iowa where the Buckeyes from earlier this season would have crumbled and failed, but not Friday. Now, Ohio State will have to look past the star of Betts and play a combination of their high-powered offense and a defense that can bend but not break.
Projected Lineups
Ohio State
G- Jaloni Cambridge
G- Chance Gray
G- Taylor Thierry
F- Cotie McMahon
F- Ajae Petty
UCLA
G- Kiki Rice
G- Londynn Jones
F- Gabriela Jaquez
F- Angela Dugalic
C- Lauren Betts
Prediction
Ohio State will hit early three-point shots and have a strong performance beyond the arc, despite Betts excelling inside the paint. Jaloni Cambridge will shake off the rust of Friday night’s performance and come out with an inspired offensive performance to keep the game close, but the Bruins will be too much for the Buckeyes to overcome but in a closer ending than February in Los Angeles.
LGHL Score Prediction: 72-68, UCLA Bruins
How to Watch
Date: Saturday, March. 8, 2025
Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Television: Big Ten Network
Stream: FOX Sports App
Continue reading...