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Game Preview: No. 10 Ohio State women’s basketball returns vs. Rutgers
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Twitter | @RUAthletics
Star freshman Kiyomi McMiller leads the Scarlet Knights against the Buckeyes
After nine days of cheese, cookies and more cheese, the college basketball holiday hiatus comes to an abrupt end for the No. 10 Ohio State women’s basketball team. The Buckeyes are back on the court for their first game since defeating Stanford in San Francisco on Dec. 20.
Now, the Scarlet and Gray are on the other side of the country, facing the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the first of 17 remaining Big Ten games. It’s a matchup that Ohio State’s done well in over the past few seasons, but will it feature stars on both sides who have missed, or had limited minutes, before the holiday break?
The last time the Buckeyes featured No. 1 overall point guard recruit Jaloni Cambridge was Dec. 10, when she took a hard fall going up for a layup against the Ball State Cardinals. In Cambridge’s place, graduate senior Madison Greene’s done all that’s expected from an experienced guard who knows the Ohio State system well, scoring 31 points in three starts.
According to head coach Kevin McGuff, Cambridge was close before playing Stanford, but not close enough to be available for the 84-59 Ohio State victory.
Rutgers might have some injury issues themselves with forward Destiny Adams, who averages 17.3 points and 9.6 rebounds. A career season that followed a historic 31-point, 24-rebound performance in the 2024 Big Ten tournament.
In the last game of the Scarlet Knights’ non-conference schedule, Adams wasn’t listed on the injury report but didn’t start either. Rutgers defeated Lafayette 72-65, but Adams played five minutes with one rebound and one attempted shot.
Following the game, head coach Coquese Washington wasn’t asked about the low minutes. It’s likely that it was an attempt to keep the senior fresh before the start of the Big Ten season.
Something Washington did discuss following their narrow win over Lafayette was why the Scarlet Knights have already matched their win total from the 23-24 season. When asked about the difference from last campaign to this season, the coach of the 8-4 Rutgers program simply pointed to her left, to freshman guard Kiyomi McMiller.
McMiller has changed the outlook of the Scarlet Knights from a side at the bottom of the Big Ten to a side that could be in the top-15 and make the Big Ten tournament field that now won’t include all 18 teams.
The freshman out of New Jersey’s life Academy averaged 30.1 points as a senior in high school and is already an offensive juggernaut, leading all freshmen in the nation with 20.9 points per game. That’s second behind only USC Trojan JuJu Watkins in the Big Ten. McMiller’s done it through an abundance of shots.
In 12 games, McMiller averages 19.2 shots per game, the most in the Big Ten. To put that into context, it’s only one less shot per game than former Iowa Hawkeye Caitlin Clark, famously known for throwing up shots with high frequency. Clark averaged less than 19.2 shots in two of her four seasons in Iowa City.
Give the freshman McMiller any room to shoot and a shot will go up. From beyond the arc or by going to the basket. McMiller also has some of the most impressive ball handling that the conference has seen in recent memory.
Whether it’s Cambridge or Greene getting the start, they’ll have their hands full. When Rutgers get through the Buckeye press, they have to quickly move their attention to the freshman. That means help from guards Chance Gray and Taylor Thierry is likely, but McMiller won’t only hurt offensively. The guard has also improved quickly on the glass, with three double-doubles in the last five games, while also leading Rutgers in assists with 3.4 per game.
Should Adams be fully available, without restriction, McMiller will be more dangerous for the Buckeyes. Rutgers has size inside the paint that Ohio State will need to contend.
Rutgers rotates three forwards standing at 6-foot-3, with two normally starting with Adams and Zachara Perkins, which will make it difficult on the lone consistent paint threat of forward Ajae Petty. The Scarlet Knights are tied for third in the conference with 43.8 rebounds per game and are second overall in offensive rebounds per game (15.9).
The key to watch for Ohio State is forcing turnovers from McMiller and Rutgers. When the Scarlet Knights give up 20 turnovers per game, they’re 0-2. Their second worst performance in that department came against the lone power conference school in their non-conference schedule, a 20-turnover game against the Virginia Tech Hokies in a 91-80 victory.
Fortunately for McGuff’s side, there isn’t a dip in turning the ball over with Greene or Cambridge leading the Buckeyes’ defense, with both averaging over two per game this season.
Overall, Ohio State is 12-3 against Rutgers since the New Jersey program joined the Big Ten in the 14-15 season.
G- Jaloni Cambridge
G- Chance Gray
G- Taylor Thierry
F- Cotie McMahon
F- Ajae Petty
G - Kiyomi McMiller
G - Mya Petticord
G - Jojo Lacey
F - Zachara Perkins
F - Destiny Adams
With Rutgers playing a top-10 team in the country, there’s the expectation of a high tempo start for the home team. Cotie McMahon and Chance Gray will neutralize the early rush from the Scarlet Knights to bring Ohio State some consistency.
It will be a close game in the first half, but the Scarlet and Gray will wear down the home team with their full court pressing defense and head back to Columbus with a double-digit victory.
Date: Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024
Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
Where: Jersey Mike’s Arena, Piscataway, New Jersey
Stream: B1G+
This week, ESPN released their ranking of the top 5 freshmen in the country. Sunday, two of those five play against each other in Piscataway.
Cambridge came in at No. 5 in the ranking, with Kiyomi McMiller sitting at No. 4. It’s the only scheduled game between the two this season, unless the team teams should meet in the Big Ten tournament, that is if Cambridge plays at all.
If Cambridge returns, it’ll make for a potentially explosive start to the Big Ten schedule.
Overall, the Big Ten accounted for three of the five top freshmen, with Michigan guard Syla Swords coming in at No. 3 on the list. The Buckeyes don’t have to wait much longer to take on the Wolverines and Swords, with Ohio State traveling to Ann Arbor on Jan. 8.
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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
Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Twitter | @RUAthletics
Star freshman Kiyomi McMiller leads the Scarlet Knights against the Buckeyes
After nine days of cheese, cookies and more cheese, the college basketball holiday hiatus comes to an abrupt end for the No. 10 Ohio State women’s basketball team. The Buckeyes are back on the court for their first game since defeating Stanford in San Francisco on Dec. 20.
Now, the Scarlet and Gray are on the other side of the country, facing the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the first of 17 remaining Big Ten games. It’s a matchup that Ohio State’s done well in over the past few seasons, but will it feature stars on both sides who have missed, or had limited minutes, before the holiday break?
Preview
The last time the Buckeyes featured No. 1 overall point guard recruit Jaloni Cambridge was Dec. 10, when she took a hard fall going up for a layup against the Ball State Cardinals. In Cambridge’s place, graduate senior Madison Greene’s done all that’s expected from an experienced guard who knows the Ohio State system well, scoring 31 points in three starts.
According to head coach Kevin McGuff, Cambridge was close before playing Stanford, but not close enough to be available for the 84-59 Ohio State victory.
Rutgers might have some injury issues themselves with forward Destiny Adams, who averages 17.3 points and 9.6 rebounds. A career season that followed a historic 31-point, 24-rebound performance in the 2024 Big Ten tournament.
In the last game of the Scarlet Knights’ non-conference schedule, Adams wasn’t listed on the injury report but didn’t start either. Rutgers defeated Lafayette 72-65, but Adams played five minutes with one rebound and one attempted shot.
Following the game, head coach Coquese Washington wasn’t asked about the low minutes. It’s likely that it was an attempt to keep the senior fresh before the start of the Big Ten season.
Something Washington did discuss following their narrow win over Lafayette was why the Scarlet Knights have already matched their win total from the 23-24 season. When asked about the difference from last campaign to this season, the coach of the 8-4 Rutgers program simply pointed to her left, to freshman guard Kiyomi McMiller.
McMiller has changed the outlook of the Scarlet Knights from a side at the bottom of the Big Ten to a side that could be in the top-15 and make the Big Ten tournament field that now won’t include all 18 teams.
The freshman out of New Jersey’s life Academy averaged 30.1 points as a senior in high school and is already an offensive juggernaut, leading all freshmen in the nation with 20.9 points per game. That’s second behind only USC Trojan JuJu Watkins in the Big Ten. McMiller’s done it through an abundance of shots.
In 12 games, McMiller averages 19.2 shots per game, the most in the Big Ten. To put that into context, it’s only one less shot per game than former Iowa Hawkeye Caitlin Clark, famously known for throwing up shots with high frequency. Clark averaged less than 19.2 shots in two of her four seasons in Iowa City.
Give the freshman McMiller any room to shoot and a shot will go up. From beyond the arc or by going to the basket. McMiller also has some of the most impressive ball handling that the conference has seen in recent memory.
Whether it’s Cambridge or Greene getting the start, they’ll have their hands full. When Rutgers get through the Buckeye press, they have to quickly move their attention to the freshman. That means help from guards Chance Gray and Taylor Thierry is likely, but McMiller won’t only hurt offensively. The guard has also improved quickly on the glass, with three double-doubles in the last five games, while also leading Rutgers in assists with 3.4 per game.
Should Adams be fully available, without restriction, McMiller will be more dangerous for the Buckeyes. Rutgers has size inside the paint that Ohio State will need to contend.
Rutgers rotates three forwards standing at 6-foot-3, with two normally starting with Adams and Zachara Perkins, which will make it difficult on the lone consistent paint threat of forward Ajae Petty. The Scarlet Knights are tied for third in the conference with 43.8 rebounds per game and are second overall in offensive rebounds per game (15.9).
The key to watch for Ohio State is forcing turnovers from McMiller and Rutgers. When the Scarlet Knights give up 20 turnovers per game, they’re 0-2. Their second worst performance in that department came against the lone power conference school in their non-conference schedule, a 20-turnover game against the Virginia Tech Hokies in a 91-80 victory.
Fortunately for McGuff’s side, there isn’t a dip in turning the ball over with Greene or Cambridge leading the Buckeyes’ defense, with both averaging over two per game this season.
Overall, Ohio State is 12-3 against Rutgers since the New Jersey program joined the Big Ten in the 14-15 season.
Projected Starters
Ohio State
G- Jaloni Cambridge
G- Chance Gray
G- Taylor Thierry
F- Cotie McMahon
F- Ajae Petty
Lineup Notes
- Madison Greene, Chance Gray and Taylor Thierry are all in the top 10 in the Big Ten in steals, the only program in the conference with three players in the top 10 rankings.
- Only one game last season featured a different starting lineup for head coach Kevin McGuff. This year, the Buckeyes have used three in 12 games.
- Chance Gray is 14 points away from scoring her 1,000th NCAA point.
Rutgers
G - Kiyomi McMiller
G - Mya Petticord
G - Jojo Lacey
F - Zachara Perkins
F - Destiny Adams
Lineup Notes
- JoJo Lacey is the only player on the Rutgers roster to start all 12 games this season.
- Head coach Coquese Washington’s used seven different starting lineups in 12 games.
- Chyna Cornwell, playing mostly off the bench this season, leads the Big Ten in offensive rebounds with 61 in 23.2 minutes per game.
Prediction
With Rutgers playing a top-10 team in the country, there’s the expectation of a high tempo start for the home team. Cotie McMahon and Chance Gray will neutralize the early rush from the Scarlet Knights to bring Ohio State some consistency.
It will be a close game in the first half, but the Scarlet and Gray will wear down the home team with their full court pressing defense and head back to Columbus with a double-digit victory.
How to Watch
Date: Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024
Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
Where: Jersey Mike’s Arena, Piscataway, New Jersey
Stream: B1G+
LGHL Score Prediction: Ohio State 85, Rutgers 70
Top Freshmen Battle
This week, ESPN released their ranking of the top 5 freshmen in the country. Sunday, two of those five play against each other in Piscataway.
Cambridge came in at No. 5 in the ranking, with Kiyomi McMiller sitting at No. 4. It’s the only scheduled game between the two this season, unless the team teams should meet in the Big Ten tournament, that is if Cambridge plays at all.
If Cambridge returns, it’ll make for a potentially explosive start to the Big Ten schedule.
Overall, the Big Ten accounted for three of the five top freshmen, with Michigan guard Syla Swords coming in at No. 3 on the list. The Buckeyes don’t have to wait much longer to take on the Wolverines and Swords, with Ohio State traveling to Ann Arbor on Jan. 8.
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