Ohio State Takes on No. 7 Seed Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

By Kevin Harrish on March 25, 2016 at 12:00 pm
The Buckeyes face Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, Friday night.
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For the first time since 2011, the Ohio State women's basketball team is in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. It's an accomplishment, sure, but the celebration ended almost as soon as it started, as the team realizes there's still plenty of work to be done.

UCONN
Tennessee Lady Volunteers
21-13, 8-8 SEC
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9:30 PM – Friday, March 25
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“Making it to the Sweet 16 means a lot to us – a lot to our program, a lot to our team. But I’ll say, we aren’t looking to stop there," said senior captain Ameryst Alston. "Our team goal is to make it further."

The Buckeyes have not reached the Elite Eight in the lifetime of any player on the current roster, with their last appearance coming in 1993. The only thing standing in their way this year is historic powerhouse Tennessee.

The Lady Vols are arguably the best program in NCAA history, having made more Final Fours (18) and NCAA Championship games (13) than any other program in the country. Tennessee's eight national titles are good for second all time, trailing only Connecticut's 10. These vaunted Lady Vols have had Ohio State's number, as well, winning nine of the last 10 meetings all-time.

“They certainly are one of the best programs ever in women’s basketball," said Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff. "They have a rich tradition of success, and specifically success in March."

By its standards, Tennessee struggled this season. The team is a modest 21-13 on the season (8-8 SEC) and finds itself outside of the top-25 for the first time since 1985.

Still, this is a dangerous team. The Lady Vols downed a tallented No. 11 Arizona State team on its home court last weekend, 74-65. Tennessee is led by Diamond DeShields, who McGuff calls "one of the best players in the country." The sophomore guard leads the team in points, assists, steals as well as free throw percentage, and at 6-foot-1 she's a tough matchup for anyone in Ohio State's backcourt.

“They have a great basketball team," said McGuff. "They're extremely talented and it seems like they’ve been playing their best basketball of the year here as of late.”

It will be a test, but there's very little you could throw at this Buckeye team that they haven't seen already. Ohio State played perhaps the most difficult regular season schedule of anyone in the tournament field. The Buckeyes have faced three of the four No. 1 seeds in nonconference play and were done no favors in Big Ten play, drawing seven top-25 matchups, including a pair with top-5 ranked Maryland.

“I think we’ve seen great competition, said McGuff. "We’ve seen different styles of play, so I think we have the necessary experience for this game."

Ohio State guard Kelsey Mitchell reiterated that point.

"We played great teams like UConn, South Carolina and Notre Dame. There's no question teams like that prepared us for the worst," said Mitchell. "I think we know what needs to be done to survive and advance.”

If the team is to survive and advance, it's going to be due in large part to the play of Mitchell. She's been the team's most valuable player the past two seasons, but her importance to this Buckeye team has never been greater than it will be Friday night.

The team's already depleted and banged-up backcourt suffered another huge blow Thursday: senior captain Cait Craft will miss the remainder of the tournament with a broken hand, ending her Ohio State career. Craft started 102 games in her Buckeye career. She missed just one game this season with a sore foot, an injury she played through ever since.

Though her contributions don't always show up in the stat book, Craft is a force defensively and is without doubt the team's most versatile player. The void she leaves is not one that can be filled, but the Buckeyes are going to need at least cover it.

Along with Craft's injury, Ohio State also faces the adversity of Ameryst Alston's sprained wrist. Alston injured her shooting wrist in the first game of the Big Ten Tournament, and despite playing through the injury in Sunday's win against West Virginia, she admitted she was only at about 75 percent and the soreness affected her game.

As far as her recovery nearly a week later, Alston said, "It’s doing a lot better. We’ve got a few days before we play again so I think that will be very good for me.” 

Ohio State is depleted and banged up heading into the contest with Tennessee, but don't write this team off quite yet. The Buckeyes still have plenty of talent with Asia Doss being one of the nation's premier defenders, Alexa Hart being the nation's second most consistent scorer, and Shayla Cooper playing her best basketball of the season in the NCAA Tournament.

And if all else fails, whenever you have a player like Kelsey Mitchell —  who scored over 40 points in three of her last five games — you always have a chance.

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