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NCAA Tournament Preview: No. 2 Ohio State women’s basketball vs. No. 7 Duke
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images
The Buckeyes and Blue Devils face each other for the first time in NCAA Tournament history.
Ohio State women’s basketball won on Friday against the Maine Black Bears. Following the game, the Scarlet and Gray sat in the arena, watching to see which side it would face on Sunday.
After the No. 10 Richmond Spiders hit eight threes in the first half, and took a nine-point lead into halftime against the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils, it was anyone’s guess on which way the result would fall.
The Blue Devils, known for a strong focus on defense, slowed the Spiders down in the second half to move into the NCAA Tournament’s Second Round.
Now, it’s time for the Buckeyes and Blue Devils to meet for the first time in March Madness, and it’s a matchup of two different, but effective, defenses and youth versus experience.
When Ohio State guard Celeste Taylor left the Duke program following her graduation last season, she wasn’t the only one. The Blue Devil’s roster returned five players from last year’s roster, which lost in the Second Round, at home.
However, that doesn’t mean Duke suffered. Head coach Kara Lawson brought in freshmen and young transfers, three of them not only average at least 20 minutes per game but they’re the reason why Sunday’s game between the ACC and Big Ten sides could be close.
Leading the young group is transfer guard Taina Mair, a player the Buckeyes have seen before.
Following one season with the Boston College Eagles, who hosted the Scarlet and Gray early in the 2022-23 season, Mair moved within the ACC to the state of North Carolina. Against Ohio State, Mair featured for BC, leading the game with 10 assists in only her third NCAA game. The then-freshman averaged 6.6 assists with Boston, good for second highest total in the conference.
With Duke, Mair is still a facilitator. She leads the Blue Devils with 3.3 assists per game, which looks like a steep drop, but considering the Blue Devil’s offensive potency, it makes sense. Alongside the young Mair is true freshman forward Oluchi Okanawa.
Okanawa, coincidentally coming out of high school from Boston, had a strong first impression in the ACC. averaging 9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds, all from the bench, Okanawa won the ACC Sixth Player of the Year award. Plus, a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team.
Despite the label of a bench player, Okanawa features prominently for Coach Lawson. The freshman plays 21.5 minutes per game. She’s an important piece on both ends of the court, playing an important part of Duke’s potent defensive tactics.
Watch the Blue Devils defense in games and its players don’t relent. Expect the Blue Devils to play man coverage that sometimes morphs into a zone. Anytime the ball gets close to the paint, a hand goes up and the defense is doing its best to clog lanes and push back even the most simple of offensive moves — disruption similar to what the Buckeyes saw against the Maryland Terrapins in the Big Ten Tournament.
It’s not all underclass youth for Lawson’s side. Duke still has guard Reigan Richardson and center Kennedy Brown, each with the ability to give the Buckeyes issues.
For Richardson, she’s the Blue Devils scorer. Averaging 11.9 points per game doesn’t seem like much, but for how slow the game gets with Duke’s defense, it’s more than enough. Richardson can also turn up the offensive intensity when needed.
Look at Friday’s game against the Richmond Spiders. The scoring followed Richardson. When she was on the rest of the team followed. After a 13-point first quarter, the guard scored nothing in the second, ending with a five-point quarter and a nine-point deficit.
Richardson responded in the second, hitting two three-point shots and 12 total second half baskets, showing how she’s a three-level scorer. When Richardson hits, the rest of the team benefits. For Ohio State, it struggled against a strong scorer in Maine Black Bears’ Anne Simon, leading all scorers in Friday’s first game with 25 points.
The way Brown can frustrate the Buckeyes is inside the paint. At 6-foot-6, the center will make already difficult Ohio State rebounding even tougher. Friday, Ohio State out rebounded Maine, but that was against a smaller team. Brown averages 5.5 rebounds per game but she isn’t rebounding alone. Duke’s roster includes three players who average at least five rebounds per game, making it a point of emphasis for the Buckeyes.
That means Ohio State will have to make the best of their offensive possessions, which the Blue Devils may help give to the Buckeyes.
Duke gives the ball away almost 17 times per game. Partly because of how fast it tries to move the ball up the court. Against Richmond, the Blue Devils used their pace to inbound the ball and send it to the offensive side of the court without hesitation. That’ll mean the press of Ohio State will have to set up quickly.
If it doesn’t, and the ball gets past the first two lines of the Buckeyes defense, it’ll provide more open looks for the ACC side.
G- Jacy Sheldon
G- Celeste Taylor
G- Taylor Thierry
F- Cotie McMahon
F- Rebeka Mikulášikova
G- Taina Mair
G- Reigan Richardson
G- Ashlon Jackson
G- Jadyn Donovan
C- Kennedy Brown
Duke will be organized on defense, but struggle offensively. It’ll take time for Ohio State to adjust to the Blue Devils’ defense, but find its chances through strong passing between players.
The experience of Ohio State will prevail over a young Duke side, but it’s going to be close. Coach McGuff’s team will force at least 20 turnovers and grow a lead late in the game, and win the contest on the free throw line.
Date: Sunday, March 24, 2024
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Where: Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio
Television: ESPN
Stream: ESPN App
At least four Ohio State players will play their final game in Columbus on Sunday. Sheldon, Taylor and forward Taiyier Parks are done playing in the Schott after the weekend, but maybe not Ohio.
If the Buckeyes win their next three games, the Final Four takes place in Cleveland, Ohio. It gives the players a chance to play one more time in their home state, and in Ohio State’s first Final Four in 31 years.
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
Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images
The Buckeyes and Blue Devils face each other for the first time in NCAA Tournament history.
Ohio State women’s basketball won on Friday against the Maine Black Bears. Following the game, the Scarlet and Gray sat in the arena, watching to see which side it would face on Sunday.
After the No. 10 Richmond Spiders hit eight threes in the first half, and took a nine-point lead into halftime against the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils, it was anyone’s guess on which way the result would fall.
The Blue Devils, known for a strong focus on defense, slowed the Spiders down in the second half to move into the NCAA Tournament’s Second Round.
Now, it’s time for the Buckeyes and Blue Devils to meet for the first time in March Madness, and it’s a matchup of two different, but effective, defenses and youth versus experience.
Preview
When Ohio State guard Celeste Taylor left the Duke program following her graduation last season, she wasn’t the only one. The Blue Devil’s roster returned five players from last year’s roster, which lost in the Second Round, at home.
However, that doesn’t mean Duke suffered. Head coach Kara Lawson brought in freshmen and young transfers, three of them not only average at least 20 minutes per game but they’re the reason why Sunday’s game between the ACC and Big Ten sides could be close.
Leading the young group is transfer guard Taina Mair, a player the Buckeyes have seen before.
Following one season with the Boston College Eagles, who hosted the Scarlet and Gray early in the 2022-23 season, Mair moved within the ACC to the state of North Carolina. Against Ohio State, Mair featured for BC, leading the game with 10 assists in only her third NCAA game. The then-freshman averaged 6.6 assists with Boston, good for second highest total in the conference.
With Duke, Mair is still a facilitator. She leads the Blue Devils with 3.3 assists per game, which looks like a steep drop, but considering the Blue Devil’s offensive potency, it makes sense. Alongside the young Mair is true freshman forward Oluchi Okanawa.
Okanawa, coincidentally coming out of high school from Boston, had a strong first impression in the ACC. averaging 9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds, all from the bench, Okanawa won the ACC Sixth Player of the Year award. Plus, a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team.
Despite the label of a bench player, Okanawa features prominently for Coach Lawson. The freshman plays 21.5 minutes per game. She’s an important piece on both ends of the court, playing an important part of Duke’s potent defensive tactics.
Watch the Blue Devils defense in games and its players don’t relent. Expect the Blue Devils to play man coverage that sometimes morphs into a zone. Anytime the ball gets close to the paint, a hand goes up and the defense is doing its best to clog lanes and push back even the most simple of offensive moves — disruption similar to what the Buckeyes saw against the Maryland Terrapins in the Big Ten Tournament.
It’s not all underclass youth for Lawson’s side. Duke still has guard Reigan Richardson and center Kennedy Brown, each with the ability to give the Buckeyes issues.
For Richardson, she’s the Blue Devils scorer. Averaging 11.9 points per game doesn’t seem like much, but for how slow the game gets with Duke’s defense, it’s more than enough. Richardson can also turn up the offensive intensity when needed.
Look at Friday’s game against the Richmond Spiders. The scoring followed Richardson. When she was on the rest of the team followed. After a 13-point first quarter, the guard scored nothing in the second, ending with a five-point quarter and a nine-point deficit.
Richardson responded in the second, hitting two three-point shots and 12 total second half baskets, showing how she’s a three-level scorer. When Richardson hits, the rest of the team benefits. For Ohio State, it struggled against a strong scorer in Maine Black Bears’ Anne Simon, leading all scorers in Friday’s first game with 25 points.
The way Brown can frustrate the Buckeyes is inside the paint. At 6-foot-6, the center will make already difficult Ohio State rebounding even tougher. Friday, Ohio State out rebounded Maine, but that was against a smaller team. Brown averages 5.5 rebounds per game but she isn’t rebounding alone. Duke’s roster includes three players who average at least five rebounds per game, making it a point of emphasis for the Buckeyes.
That means Ohio State will have to make the best of their offensive possessions, which the Blue Devils may help give to the Buckeyes.
Duke gives the ball away almost 17 times per game. Partly because of how fast it tries to move the ball up the court. Against Richmond, the Blue Devils used their pace to inbound the ball and send it to the offensive side of the court without hesitation. That’ll mean the press of Ohio State will have to set up quickly.
If it doesn’t, and the ball gets past the first two lines of the Buckeyes defense, it’ll provide more open looks for the ACC side.
Ohio State
G- Jacy Sheldon
G- Celeste Taylor
G- Taylor Thierry
F- Cotie McMahon
F- Rebeka Mikulášikova
Lineup Notes
- Against Richmond, guard Celeste Taylor had at least five in four different statistical categories, with 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and six steals.
- Guard/forward Taylor Thierry’s five offensive rebounds were the only five she had against Maine, the first time Thierry’s only had offensive rebounds in a game this season.
- Ohio State is 16-2 when they hit at least seven three-point shots a game, although the most hit this season (14) came in a loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes on March 3.
Duke
G- Taina Mair
G- Reigan Richardson
G- Ashlon Jackson
G- Jadyn Donovan
C- Kennedy Brown
Lineup Notes
- Guard Reigan Richardson led the Blue Devils with 25 points Friday against the Richmond Spiders. Richardson leads Duke in scoring this season, averaging 11.9 points per game.
- Duke’s 72 points against the Spiders is the 13th time the side reached at least 70 points scored in a game. The Blue Devils average 10 less points scored per game than the Buckeyes.
- Defensively, the Blue Devils allow 57.8 points per game, the lowest in the ACC and 42nd lowest in the nation.
Prediction
Duke will be organized on defense, but struggle offensively. It’ll take time for Ohio State to adjust to the Blue Devils’ defense, but find its chances through strong passing between players.
The experience of Ohio State will prevail over a young Duke side, but it’s going to be close. Coach McGuff’s team will force at least 20 turnovers and grow a lead late in the game, and win the contest on the free throw line.
How to Watch
Date: Sunday, March 24, 2024
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Where: Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio
Television: ESPN
Stream: ESPN App
LGHL Prediction: 76-69 Ohio State Buckeyes
Finishing Careers at Home
At least four Ohio State players will play their final game in Columbus on Sunday. Sheldon, Taylor and forward Taiyier Parks are done playing in the Schott after the weekend, but maybe not Ohio.
If the Buckeyes win their next three games, the Final Four takes place in Cleveland, Ohio. It gives the players a chance to play one more time in their home state, and in Ohio State’s first Final Four in 31 years.
Continue reading...