Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament Preview

By Kevin Harrish on March 2, 2018 at 7:00 am
Kevin McGuff looks to lead the Buckeyes to the Big Ten Tournament title.
5 Comments

The Buckeyes have dominated the Big Ten of late, finishing the regular season no worse than second in the conference each of the last three seasons and winning back-to-back regular season titles the past two seasons.

But despite the dominating regular seasons, Ohio State has not had the same success in the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes haven't won a Big Ten Tournament title under current head coach Kevin McGuff or with this impressive group of seniors, falling in the semifinals each of the last two years.

Now, with the top seed and a veteran-laden roster, Ohio State is looking to claim its first Big Ten Tournament Championship since 2011.

“It would mean a lot," senior guard Linnae Harper said. "For the seniors – we have five seniors – we’ve all worked so hard."

“I actually love it. You get in that AAU mode, it kind of feels good to just play game after game after game – as long as you’re winning."– Kelsey Mitchell

For those seniors, including the Big Ten's all-time leading scorer Kelsey Mitchell, it will be the last chance to add a Big Ten Tournament title to their impressive legacy.

Ohio State's path to the championship begins Friday at noon against Rutgers after the Scarlet Knights downed Purdue 62-60 on Thursday thanks to a game-winning jumper from Tyler Scaife to send her team to the next round.

The last time the Buckeyes faced Rutgers, Ohio State blasted the Scarlet Knights, shooting 56 percent from the field to run away with a 90-68 victory. Five different players scored in double figures while the Buckeyes held Rutgers to a lackluster 39 percent from the field and 21 percent from three-point range.

With a much more talented roster top to bottom, the Buckeyes will look to overwhelm the Scarlet Knights once again. If they're able to do so, Ohio State would face either Minnesota or Iowa in Saturday's semifinal. A win there would send the Buckeyes to the final, with potential matchups against Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska or Indiana – two of which beat Ohio State during the regular season.

Big Ten Tournament Bracket

Regardless of the opponent, a Big Ten Tournament championship would require three wins in three games, which could be a tall task for an Ohio State team with such a shallow bench.

The Buckeyes though, are far less concerned than they are excited.

“I actually love it," Kelsey Mitchell said. "You get in that AAU mode, it kind of feels good to just play game after game after game – as long as you’re winning."

Harper echoed that sentiment, explaining that this is nothing her team is unprepared for.

“I think it’s nothing to overthink," Harper said. "Throughout nonconfernce and at the beginning of conference, we’ve been in stretches where we’ve played four or five games in nine or 10 gams. So we’ve been in this position before."

And they have – nearly the exact-same position, actually. Ohio State took part in the early-season Play4Kay Showcase, where it played – yes, three-straight games to take the tournament title, downing No. 16 Stanford 94-82 in overtime in the championship game.

This time though, there's a little more at stake: a conference title, and the chance to lock up a top-16 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament and the right to host the opening weekend's games.

The Buckeyes have the talent, are well prepared, and know what's at stake. Now it just comes down to execution.

"I think we'll play hard. I think our effort will be there," head coach Kevin McGuff said. "It's just how do we execute, how well do we play – we're going to have to make shots."

Thankfully, making shots isn't typically a problem for the nation's third-highest scoring team.

5 Comments
View 5 Comments