ThomasCostello
Guest
Ohio State to face Tennessee Volunteers in the Second Round of March Madness
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 Jay LaPrete/NCAA Photos/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
The Buckeyes and Volunteers face-off in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in program history
Ohio State women’s basketball returns to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday after the No. 4 Buckeyes defeated the No. 13 Montana State Bobcats on Friday night. Now the Scarlet and Gray know the team they will face when the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers defeated the No. 12 USF Bulls 101-66.
The Volunteers and Bulls got off to a fast start on Friday night, with Tennessee playing a fast-paced offense under first year Vols head coach Kim Caldwell. To USF’s credit, the AAC conference tournament champions responded to everything the Vols threw at them with five lead changes in the first quarter.
However, in the second the Tennessee defense made things difficult on the Bulls. USF shot 4-of-14 from the line and the Vols forced six turnovers, with nine points coming off of those turnovers.
Standing out for Tennessee was guard Talaysia Cooper, who scored 16 points in the first half alone to nearly match her team-leading 16.7 points per game. What made the performance so special was that it was Cooper’s return from an ankle injury the sophomore sustained on March 6, on Tennessee’s Senior Day.
Cooper led the team with 20 points and six rebounds in 19 minutes.
Tennessee outscored USF 29-9 in the second quarter and there was no coming back for the AAC side in the final half. USF stayed with the Vols in the third quarter but did not do enough on the defensive end of the court to stop Tennessee from keeping up. Caldwell’s side increased their lead by two points by the end of the third quarter.
Ohio State and Tennessee have history in the NCAA Tournament. The Vols defeated the Buckeyes three previous times during the 1996, 2011 and 2016 editions of March Madness, with the past two during the Sweet Sixteen round of games.
The first two defeats came against legendary head coach Pat Summitt, who led the Vols to a national title during the 1996 NCAA Tournament.
However, in the 22-23 and 23-24 seasons, the two teams played a home-and-home series that began in Columbus on the first night of the 22-23 campaign. In that game, Ohio State shocked the top-10 ranked Vols 87-75 in junior Cotie McMahon’s first NCAA game. The next season, head coach Kevin McGuff’s side traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee and defeated then head coach Kellie Harper’s Volunteers 78-58.
At the end of last season, Tennessee moved on from Harper and hired Caldwell, who is known for an offense that shots a lot of shots from beyond the arc. The Vols are No. 3 in the nation with 30.9 three-point attempts per game. Last season, with the Marshall Thundering Herd, Caldwell’s side led the nation with 31.9 shots from deep per game, a then NCAA record before Arkansas State shot 32.5 this season.
There is no official time for the Second Round game until the completion of Friday night’s First Round tournament matchups.
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 Jay LaPrete/NCAA Photos/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
The Buckeyes and Volunteers face-off in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in program history
Ohio State women’s basketball returns to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday after the No. 4 Buckeyes defeated the No. 13 Montana State Bobcats on Friday night. Now the Scarlet and Gray know the team they will face when the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers defeated the No. 12 USF Bulls 101-66.
The Volunteers and Bulls got off to a fast start on Friday night, with Tennessee playing a fast-paced offense under first year Vols head coach Kim Caldwell. To USF’s credit, the AAC conference tournament champions responded to everything the Vols threw at them with five lead changes in the first quarter.
However, in the second the Tennessee defense made things difficult on the Bulls. USF shot 4-of-14 from the line and the Vols forced six turnovers, with nine points coming off of those turnovers.
Standing out for Tennessee was guard Talaysia Cooper, who scored 16 points in the first half alone to nearly match her team-leading 16.7 points per game. What made the performance so special was that it was Cooper’s return from an ankle injury the sophomore sustained on March 6, on Tennessee’s Senior Day.
Cooper led the team with 20 points and six rebounds in 19 minutes.
Tennessee outscored USF 29-9 in the second quarter and there was no coming back for the AAC side in the final half. USF stayed with the Vols in the third quarter but did not do enough on the defensive end of the court to stop Tennessee from keeping up. Caldwell’s side increased their lead by two points by the end of the third quarter.
Ohio State and Tennessee have history in the NCAA Tournament. The Vols defeated the Buckeyes three previous times during the 1996, 2011 and 2016 editions of March Madness, with the past two during the Sweet Sixteen round of games.
The first two defeats came against legendary head coach Pat Summitt, who led the Vols to a national title during the 1996 NCAA Tournament.
However, in the 22-23 and 23-24 seasons, the two teams played a home-and-home series that began in Columbus on the first night of the 22-23 campaign. In that game, Ohio State shocked the top-10 ranked Vols 87-75 in junior Cotie McMahon’s first NCAA game. The next season, head coach Kevin McGuff’s side traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee and defeated then head coach Kellie Harper’s Volunteers 78-58.
At the end of last season, Tennessee moved on from Harper and hired Caldwell, who is known for an offense that shots a lot of shots from beyond the arc. The Vols are No. 3 in the nation with 30.9 three-point attempts per game. Last season, with the Marshall Thundering Herd, Caldwell’s side led the nation with 31.9 shots from deep per game, a then NCAA record before Arkansas State shot 32.5 this season.
There is no official time for the Second Round game until the completion of Friday night’s First Round tournament matchups.
Continue reading...