INDIANAPOLIS — Ohio State is just one game away from becoming both the Big Ten's regular season and tournament champions – a feat the Buckeyes haven't accomplished since the 2009-10 season.
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25-6 (12-4 B1G) ROSTER / SCHEDULE |
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7 P.M. – SUNDAY, MARCH 4 BANKERS LIFE FIELD HOUSE INDIANAPOLIS, IND |
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The only team standing in the way is a familiar adversary: Maryland.
Since the Terrapins joined the conference, it's been a battle between the Buckeyes and Maryland at the top of the Big Ten.
Each of the last four seasons, either Ohio State or Maryland has won the Big Ten championship. Maryland won the 2015 and 2016 regular season titles outright, shared the 2017 title – with the Buckeyes holding the tie-breaker – and Ohio State won the 2018 title.
The Terps though, have dominated the Big Ten Tournament, winning all three tournament titles since their first season in the conference in 2015. Tonight, the Buckeyes will look to buck that trend and top Maryland for their first Big Ten Tournament title since 2011.
The Terrapins are not as dominant this season as they were in years past – as evidenced by their four Big Ten losses – but Maryland is still dangerous, as Ohio State learned earlier this season in its 30-point loss, which was part of a three-game losing skid.
Maryland simply outshot the Buckeyes, and dominated the boards. The Terrapins shot a red-hot 55 percent from the field and 61 percent from three and got 58 combined points from Kaila Charles and Eleanna Christinaki.
"Well, if we want to win, and I think everybody wants to do that, we're going to be okay. We don't have a choice."– Kelsey Mitchell
Ohio State, meanwhile, shot just 39 percent from the field, 27 percent from three-point range and got just 25 combined points from Stephanie Mavunga and Kelsey Mitchell while getting out-rebounded 47-32.
The Buckeyes were playing some of their worst basketball of the season at the time, but now they're playing some of their best, with their top players coming off one of their best games of the season.
In Ohio State's thrilling 90-88 win over Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, Mitchell had a game-high 30 points and was just one assist shy of a double-double, playing all 40 minutes to help lead her team to victory – and she wasn't even the team's top performer.
Mavunga turned in one of the most dominating, complete games of her career when her team needed her most. She finished the game with 26 points, shooting an absurd 77 percent from the field, and pulled down a Big Ten Tournament record 21 rebounds – the first 20-20 game in tournament history. She even flirted with a triple double, swatting seven shots, one of which came on a clutch defensive possession at the end of the game.
Now, it's just a matter of if a the Buckeyes have enough left in the tank. With the absence of Asia Doss, who sat the tournament's first two games with a sprained ankle, Ohio State has played just a seven-player rotation, with most starters playing over 34 minutes a game. With two games in two days and a third coming tonight, there's a question of if the Buckeyes have any energy left.
"Well, if we want to win, and I think everybody wants to do that, we're going to be okay," Mitchell said. "We don't have a choice."
"Coach McGuff said we'll rest on Monday," Mavunga added.
There's a chance Ohio State will get some reinforcements if Doss is healthy enough to play come Sunday night. She's sat the first two games as a precaution, saying that she feels 95 percent healthy and feels she could go if she needed to.
"She wants to play, and it's close," McGuff said. "But the first two days it's just been a decision of we know we can get her back at 100 percent for the tournament, so we've erred on that side to this point. We'll see how she feels tomorrow."
"Coach McGuff said we'll rest on Monday."– Stephanie Mavunga
If the decision comes down to Doss, there's little doubt that she will play. She said when she was not happy when she heard she initially heard she was scratched from the lineup, causing her to miss the first game of her 134-game Ohio State career.
"I was honestly pissed I couldn’t play," Doss said candidly. "I instantly started crying, not gonna lie. I was pissed."
If Doss does play, it would be a huge addition to the team's perimeter defense and give a little more depth to a tight rotation.
Regardless, it will be a hard-fought battle between two great teams, but the Buckeyes are hoping Sunday night gives them some hardware to bring back to Columbus.
The game tips off at 7 p.m. in Bankers Life Field House in Indianapolis. It will be televised on ESPN 2.
