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Big Ten Women’s Tournament Preview: When Ohio State women begin, and the road to the finals
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
The Buckeyes enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed, but two days of action happen before the Scarlet and Gray step onto the court.
In the final year before additional Big Ten expansion, the conference descends on Minneapolis, Minnesota for the second season in a row. Playing in front of an expected sellout crowd — the first in conference women’s tournament history — is Ohio State women’s basketball the favorite to win it all? The road to the final looks clear, but if the Scarlet and Gray make it all the way to Sunday, it could be a highly coveted rematch.
The 14-team tournament starts tonight, with the bottom four seeds tipping off starting at 6:30 p.m. ET on Peacock. Here’s how the entire tournament looks beyond Wednesday night:
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Big Ten women’s basketball
The Buckeyes’ half of the conference bracket features no teams that’ve beaten Ohio State in the regular season. Head coach Kevin McGuff’s side takes on either the Illinois Fighting Illini or Maryland Terrapins in their first game of the postseason tournament.
During the conference season, the Buckeyes played both sides close on the road. On Jan. 17, in College Park, Maryland, Ohio State struggled offensively against head coach Brenda Frese’s Terrapins.
It took a strong fourth quarter of rebounding, led by All-B1G First Team forward Cotie McMahon. In the final 10 minutes, McMahon grabbed four offensive rebounds herself, against a Maryland side that looked gassed as the Buckeyes pulled away. McMahon also led the team with six points in the final quarter to pull away to an 84-76 victory.
Maryland enters Thursday’s game with a 5-3 record to end the season. However, those three losses all came against the top three schools in the Big Ten: Ohio State, the Iowa Hawkeyes, and Indiana Hoosiers. On Feb. 11, the Terrapins beat the Illini in Champaign, 69-53, and entered the game as favorites to move on.
A week after Coach McGuff’s escape from College Park, the Illini gave Ohio State another scare. In the second quarter of a 67-59 Buckeyes win, the Scarlet and Gray made program history with its lowest point-scoring total in a quarter. Those four points gave the Illini an 11-point lead heading into halftime.
As is the storyline for many games in the second half of the season, Ohio State pulled away in the second half. The Buckeyes outscored Illinois 45-26 in the final 20 minutes. Hurting the Buckeyes in that game was strong post-play by Illini forward Kendall Bostic. The 6-foot-2 Bostic grabbed 18 rebounds and scored 13 points. In all four games Bostic has played against Ohio State, she’s averaged a double-double with 16.3 rebounds and 15.8 points.
Friday’s Ohio State game starts at 12:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network. A win gives the Buckeyes a 2:00 p.m. ET tip against the winner of the other early Friday game, also on Big Ten Network.
Should the Buckeyes move on to Saturday, it’s likely against either the Michigan State Spartans or Nebraska Cornhuskers. Ohio State dominated two of the three games against the two sides, with a home game against the Spartans the closest of the group. That was a five-point win for the Buckeyes, entering the fourth quarter tied at 50 apiece. The Buckeyes adjusted, handily defeating the Spartans in East Lansing, followed by a 33-point victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
None of that means Ohio State has an easy road to move into Sunday’s tournament finale, but it does benefit from earning the No. 1 seed with what’s on the other side of the bracket.
The only two teams the Buckeyes lost to in the regular season sit opposite Ohio State. Iowa and the Michigan Wolverines have to defeat some of the strongest teams in the Big Ten. For Michigan, a win Thursday earns them a game against the Hoosiers, who might be without the services of forward Mackenzie Holmes. The All-American left Sunday’s home regular-season finale with a left knee injury.
Tuesday, head coach Teri Moren provided an optimistic update, but nothing final has been shared regarding her availability for the tournament. With that said, Indiana still beat Maryland 71-54 even with the third-quarter exit.
A dark horse is the Penn State Nittany Lions. Although the State College side slipped towards the end of the season, following a six-game winning streak with a six-game losing streak, it ended strong.
Penn State won its final two games, albeit against two of the teams in the bottom four of the conference, but ended the season with a 90-34 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers. If that Nittany Lions team enters the tournament, it’ll be difficult for the Wisconsin Badgers to advance. Then Penn State would have to face Iowa.
If seeding stays true, and there are no upsets before Saturday for Iowa and Indiana, it sets up a rematch between two of the top three teams in the Big Ten. While Ohio State and Iowa played two close games this season, guessing the result of Indiana and Iowa is a crapshoot.
Indiana lost to Iowa by 28 points in Carver-Hawkeyes Arena on Jan. 13. Then, the Hoosiers beat the Hawkeyes by 17 points in Assembly Hall at the end of February.
Should home-court advantage play a part, the crowd in Minnesota this weekend is likely Black and Gold leaning. Last year, Hawkeye fans traveled en masse to Minneapolis to cheer superstar guard Caitlin Clark and her Iowa teammates onto a Big Ten Tournament title.
Iowa’s shown its ability to bounce back and not lose to the same team two times in a row. Both Ohio State and the Kansas State Wildcats defeated the Hawkeyes, only to turn around and lose its second in-season contest against head coach Lisa Bluder’s side.
With the gap between the top three and the rest of the Big Ten, with fourth place having three more losses in conference play compared to third place, it means Saturday and Sunday could be a battle of who’s best of the best. Ohio State proved its best in conference play, but tournament time is different.
If Ohio State and Iowa play in the finale, it’ll provide a best-of-three competition with the two sides splitting the season series. The winner gets the Big Ten Tournament trophy. A tournament title for the Buckeyes would be McGuff’s second regular season and tournament win in the same year, joining the 2017-18 season when guard Kelsey Mitchell led the Scarlet and Gray to the dual titles.
Iowa has a history of its own, winning the tournament two seasons in a row. Last year, Clark and Iowa won it spectacularly with a blowout 105-72 defeat of Ohio State. This season, the stakes are higher and so is the stage. Whoever makes the final will play on national television, with Sunday’s championship final starting at 12 noon ET on CBS.
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ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
The Buckeyes enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed, but two days of action happen before the Scarlet and Gray step onto the court.
In the final year before additional Big Ten expansion, the conference descends on Minneapolis, Minnesota for the second season in a row. Playing in front of an expected sellout crowd — the first in conference women’s tournament history — is Ohio State women’s basketball the favorite to win it all? The road to the final looks clear, but if the Scarlet and Gray make it all the way to Sunday, it could be a highly coveted rematch.
The 14-team tournament starts tonight, with the bottom four seeds tipping off starting at 6:30 p.m. ET on Peacock. Here’s how the entire tournament looks beyond Wednesday night:
The Buckeyes’ half of the conference bracket features no teams that’ve beaten Ohio State in the regular season. Head coach Kevin McGuff’s side takes on either the Illinois Fighting Illini or Maryland Terrapins in their first game of the postseason tournament.
During the conference season, the Buckeyes played both sides close on the road. On Jan. 17, in College Park, Maryland, Ohio State struggled offensively against head coach Brenda Frese’s Terrapins.
It took a strong fourth quarter of rebounding, led by All-B1G First Team forward Cotie McMahon. In the final 10 minutes, McMahon grabbed four offensive rebounds herself, against a Maryland side that looked gassed as the Buckeyes pulled away. McMahon also led the team with six points in the final quarter to pull away to an 84-76 victory.
Maryland enters Thursday’s game with a 5-3 record to end the season. However, those three losses all came against the top three schools in the Big Ten: Ohio State, the Iowa Hawkeyes, and Indiana Hoosiers. On Feb. 11, the Terrapins beat the Illini in Champaign, 69-53, and entered the game as favorites to move on.
A week after Coach McGuff’s escape from College Park, the Illini gave Ohio State another scare. In the second quarter of a 67-59 Buckeyes win, the Scarlet and Gray made program history with its lowest point-scoring total in a quarter. Those four points gave the Illini an 11-point lead heading into halftime.
As is the storyline for many games in the second half of the season, Ohio State pulled away in the second half. The Buckeyes outscored Illinois 45-26 in the final 20 minutes. Hurting the Buckeyes in that game was strong post-play by Illini forward Kendall Bostic. The 6-foot-2 Bostic grabbed 18 rebounds and scored 13 points. In all four games Bostic has played against Ohio State, she’s averaged a double-double with 16.3 rebounds and 15.8 points.
Friday’s Ohio State game starts at 12:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network. A win gives the Buckeyes a 2:00 p.m. ET tip against the winner of the other early Friday game, also on Big Ten Network.
Should the Buckeyes move on to Saturday, it’s likely against either the Michigan State Spartans or Nebraska Cornhuskers. Ohio State dominated two of the three games against the two sides, with a home game against the Spartans the closest of the group. That was a five-point win for the Buckeyes, entering the fourth quarter tied at 50 apiece. The Buckeyes adjusted, handily defeating the Spartans in East Lansing, followed by a 33-point victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
None of that means Ohio State has an easy road to move into Sunday’s tournament finale, but it does benefit from earning the No. 1 seed with what’s on the other side of the bracket.
The only two teams the Buckeyes lost to in the regular season sit opposite Ohio State. Iowa and the Michigan Wolverines have to defeat some of the strongest teams in the Big Ten. For Michigan, a win Thursday earns them a game against the Hoosiers, who might be without the services of forward Mackenzie Holmes. The All-American left Sunday’s home regular-season finale with a left knee injury.
Tuesday, head coach Teri Moren provided an optimistic update, but nothing final has been shared regarding her availability for the tournament. With that said, Indiana still beat Maryland 71-54 even with the third-quarter exit.
A dark horse is the Penn State Nittany Lions. Although the State College side slipped towards the end of the season, following a six-game winning streak with a six-game losing streak, it ended strong.
Penn State won its final two games, albeit against two of the teams in the bottom four of the conference, but ended the season with a 90-34 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers. If that Nittany Lions team enters the tournament, it’ll be difficult for the Wisconsin Badgers to advance. Then Penn State would have to face Iowa.
If seeding stays true, and there are no upsets before Saturday for Iowa and Indiana, it sets up a rematch between two of the top three teams in the Big Ten. While Ohio State and Iowa played two close games this season, guessing the result of Indiana and Iowa is a crapshoot.
Indiana lost to Iowa by 28 points in Carver-Hawkeyes Arena on Jan. 13. Then, the Hoosiers beat the Hawkeyes by 17 points in Assembly Hall at the end of February.
Should home-court advantage play a part, the crowd in Minnesota this weekend is likely Black and Gold leaning. Last year, Hawkeye fans traveled en masse to Minneapolis to cheer superstar guard Caitlin Clark and her Iowa teammates onto a Big Ten Tournament title.
Iowa’s shown its ability to bounce back and not lose to the same team two times in a row. Both Ohio State and the Kansas State Wildcats defeated the Hawkeyes, only to turn around and lose its second in-season contest against head coach Lisa Bluder’s side.
With the gap between the top three and the rest of the Big Ten, with fourth place having three more losses in conference play compared to third place, it means Saturday and Sunday could be a battle of who’s best of the best. Ohio State proved its best in conference play, but tournament time is different.
If Ohio State and Iowa play in the finale, it’ll provide a best-of-three competition with the two sides splitting the season series. The winner gets the Big Ten Tournament trophy. A tournament title for the Buckeyes would be McGuff’s second regular season and tournament win in the same year, joining the 2017-18 season when guard Kelsey Mitchell led the Scarlet and Gray to the dual titles.
Iowa has a history of its own, winning the tournament two seasons in a row. Last year, Clark and Iowa won it spectacularly with a blowout 105-72 defeat of Ohio State. This season, the stakes are higher and so is the stage. Whoever makes the final will play on national television, with Sunday’s championship final starting at 12 noon ET on CBS.
Continue reading...