ThomasCostello
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Recent history shows Ohio State women’s basketball’s ability to respond
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
After the Maryland Terrapins loomed large over the Buckeyes, the NCAA Tournament approaches.
The trip to Minneapolis, Minnesota was cut two days short for Ohio State women’s basketball. Entering the Big Ten Tournament as the regular season champions, and No. 1 seed, the Buckeyes fell hard in its lone game of the weekend. Head coach Brenda Frese’s Terps played a strong 40 minutes that left the Scarlet and Gray with questions, and a long time to dwell on it and fix it.
Recent history shows that the Buckeyes can bounce back.
Following Friday’s midday game, Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff showed a level of frustration that normally doesn’t transfer from the court to the press conference room. Words were not minced.
“Today like nobody was very good,” said McGuff. “So I don’t think the starters were good, the bench wasn’t good, I wasn’t good, nobody was good.”
The Buckeyes had its worst shooting performance of the season at the Target Center, shooting a season-low 35.9% from the floor. From beyond the arc, the Scarlet and Gray went 6-for-22. Defensively, the Buckeyes forced its second-lowest turnover amount of the season (13) and were outrebounded 21 to 44.
At the final buzzer, Ohio State had its biggest margin of defeat of the season, falling by 21 points to the Terrapins.
“I thought Maryland played a great game. They were really prepared,” said McGuff. “They played like a team that might have needed this to get in the tournament, and we played like a team that showed up as the No. 1 seed and everybody was just supposed to lie down, and that’s not what happened.”
These emotions and comments aren’t new to the Buckeyes this season. In Ann Arbor, Michigan on Dec. 30, the Buckeyes looked like a team expecting the Michigan Wolverines to lay down too.
In that defeat, it wasn’t an Ohio State team that looked defeated throughout, like Friday’s version, but a team lacking chemistry.
Regardless of the method of defeat, there’s a silver lining in how the Buckeyes responded. A response that could see its way to the NCAA Tournament.
Ohio State’s loss to the Wolverines was a shock to the team’s system. After two months of adjusting to the loss of teammates, and the inclusion of new ones, the rivalry loss spurred on a winning streak the Big Ten hadn’t seen since the 05/06 season.
During a 15-game winning streak, the Buckeyes defeated the likes of the Iowa Hawkeyes, who won its third Big Ten Tournament in a row Sunday against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Plus, a win against a full-strength Indiana Hoosiers and twice defeating the same Terrapins who ended Ohio State’s tournament run.
Any loss will elicit the deepest held insecurities about the team, and there was no short of them following Friday’s defeat, but the odds are stacked in the Buckeyes’ favor that a turnaround is possible.
Now, Ohio State waits until March 17 for their March Madness seeding fate, but it’s expected that the Buckeyes will host the first two games of the tournament. The only way it doesn’t happen is if the tournament committee somehow decides to move the predicted No. 1 seed before the conference tournament all the way down to a fifth seed or lower. That’s not going to happen.
After taking time off following the tournament, the Scarlet and Gray get to practice on its home court, and not leave until potentially making the Sweet Sixteen — held in either Albany, New York or Portland, Oregon.
This season, the Buckeyes were tough to beat at the Schottenstein Center. In 16 games in Columbus, Ohio State lost once, to the then No. 2 ranked UCLA Bruins.
That doesn’t mean the success will repeat on its own. There’s work for the Buckeyes to do if it hopes to replicate, and further, its Elite Eight success of last season. In Friday’s defeat to Maryland, a strong zone set by Coach Frese’s side gave Ohio State fits. Forward Cotie McMahon tried her best to break through the zone, getting to the rim often, but the shots didn’t fall, albeit tough shots going into a lot of contact.
Against Michigan, the forward scored five points; the lowest against a Power Five team this season. Since that defeat though, the forward looked every bit of the First Team All-Big Ten player she’d be crowned at the end of the season.
McMahon followed that performance up with a 14.9 points and 7.7 rebounds clip for the 2024 leg of the 2023-24 season.
Also, guard Jacy Sheldon scored her third-lowest point total against a Power Five opponent on Friday, with her 10 points eclipsed by a five-point performance against the Wolverines in December. Like McMahon, Sheldon wasn’t held down too long and led the Buckeyes in scoring on its way to the graduate senior’s second regular season title.
There are some games that a team will outright lose on its own. The defeat in Michigan falls into that category for Ohio State. Friday’s win was just as much of a strong performance for Maryland as it was a poor performance for the Buckeyes.
Unless lightning strikes twice, with the next strike ending the season completely, the Buckeyes are a team with the ability to make a deep tournament run.
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
After the Maryland Terrapins loomed large over the Buckeyes, the NCAA Tournament approaches.
The trip to Minneapolis, Minnesota was cut two days short for Ohio State women’s basketball. Entering the Big Ten Tournament as the regular season champions, and No. 1 seed, the Buckeyes fell hard in its lone game of the weekend. Head coach Brenda Frese’s Terps played a strong 40 minutes that left the Scarlet and Gray with questions, and a long time to dwell on it and fix it.
Recent history shows that the Buckeyes can bounce back.
Following Friday’s midday game, Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff showed a level of frustration that normally doesn’t transfer from the court to the press conference room. Words were not minced.
“Today like nobody was very good,” said McGuff. “So I don’t think the starters were good, the bench wasn’t good, I wasn’t good, nobody was good.”
The Buckeyes had its worst shooting performance of the season at the Target Center, shooting a season-low 35.9% from the floor. From beyond the arc, the Scarlet and Gray went 6-for-22. Defensively, the Buckeyes forced its second-lowest turnover amount of the season (13) and were outrebounded 21 to 44.
At the final buzzer, Ohio State had its biggest margin of defeat of the season, falling by 21 points to the Terrapins.
“I thought Maryland played a great game. They were really prepared,” said McGuff. “They played like a team that might have needed this to get in the tournament, and we played like a team that showed up as the No. 1 seed and everybody was just supposed to lie down, and that’s not what happened.”
These emotions and comments aren’t new to the Buckeyes this season. In Ann Arbor, Michigan on Dec. 30, the Buckeyes looked like a team expecting the Michigan Wolverines to lay down too.
In that defeat, it wasn’t an Ohio State team that looked defeated throughout, like Friday’s version, but a team lacking chemistry.
Regardless of the method of defeat, there’s a silver lining in how the Buckeyes responded. A response that could see its way to the NCAA Tournament.
Ohio State’s loss to the Wolverines was a shock to the team’s system. After two months of adjusting to the loss of teammates, and the inclusion of new ones, the rivalry loss spurred on a winning streak the Big Ten hadn’t seen since the 05/06 season.
During a 15-game winning streak, the Buckeyes defeated the likes of the Iowa Hawkeyes, who won its third Big Ten Tournament in a row Sunday against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Plus, a win against a full-strength Indiana Hoosiers and twice defeating the same Terrapins who ended Ohio State’s tournament run.
Any loss will elicit the deepest held insecurities about the team, and there was no short of them following Friday’s defeat, but the odds are stacked in the Buckeyes’ favor that a turnaround is possible.
Now, Ohio State waits until March 17 for their March Madness seeding fate, but it’s expected that the Buckeyes will host the first two games of the tournament. The only way it doesn’t happen is if the tournament committee somehow decides to move the predicted No. 1 seed before the conference tournament all the way down to a fifth seed or lower. That’s not going to happen.
After taking time off following the tournament, the Scarlet and Gray get to practice on its home court, and not leave until potentially making the Sweet Sixteen — held in either Albany, New York or Portland, Oregon.
This season, the Buckeyes were tough to beat at the Schottenstein Center. In 16 games in Columbus, Ohio State lost once, to the then No. 2 ranked UCLA Bruins.
That doesn’t mean the success will repeat on its own. There’s work for the Buckeyes to do if it hopes to replicate, and further, its Elite Eight success of last season. In Friday’s defeat to Maryland, a strong zone set by Coach Frese’s side gave Ohio State fits. Forward Cotie McMahon tried her best to break through the zone, getting to the rim often, but the shots didn’t fall, albeit tough shots going into a lot of contact.
Against Michigan, the forward scored five points; the lowest against a Power Five team this season. Since that defeat though, the forward looked every bit of the First Team All-Big Ten player she’d be crowned at the end of the season.
McMahon followed that performance up with a 14.9 points and 7.7 rebounds clip for the 2024 leg of the 2023-24 season.
Also, guard Jacy Sheldon scored her third-lowest point total against a Power Five opponent on Friday, with her 10 points eclipsed by a five-point performance against the Wolverines in December. Like McMahon, Sheldon wasn’t held down too long and led the Buckeyes in scoring on its way to the graduate senior’s second regular season title.
There are some games that a team will outright lose on its own. The defeat in Michigan falls into that category for Ohio State. Friday’s win was just as much of a strong performance for Maryland as it was a poor performance for the Buckeyes.
Unless lightning strikes twice, with the next strike ending the season completely, the Buckeyes are a team with the ability to make a deep tournament run.
Continue reading...