The Buckeyes are looking for their third-straight Sweet 16 appearance on Monday night when they host No. 11 Central Michigan in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Ohio State enters Monday night's game coming off an 87-45, blowout win over No. 14 seed George Washington on Saturday afternoon, where the Buckeyes dominated the game from the early moments with strong post play.
Central Michigan presents a much more balanced offensive attack that can score inside and out and also thrive at the uptempo style of play the Buckeyes have become known for. It will likely be an uptempo, high-scoring game. Let's take a deeper look.
Scouting Ohio State
Offensively, the Buckeyes are led by the Big Ten's all-time leading scorer in Kelsey Mitchell, who is just 20 points away from passing Missouri State's Jackie Stiles for second on the NCAA Division I scoring list.
Mitchell is one of the most prolific scorers in NCAA history and can put the team on her back if she needs to, but Ohio State has enough talent elsewhere that her high-scoring might not be necessary, as was the case on Saturday when the Buckeyes amassed a 30-point lead before Mitchell even reached double figures.
“What concerns me is they have four people that can score in double figures," Central Michigan coach Sue Guevara said. "Once Kelsey Mitchell gets going, she gets going. But you have Stephanie Mavunga and Alexa Hart going and you have Doss come in, they’re just a high-octane basketball team."
Defensively, Ohio State has finally proven it can play sustained, high-energy defense throughout a game. The Buckeyes have held opponents under 70 points for six of their last seven games and under 60 points three times over that same stretch. When shots aren't falling in a game, Ohio State has been able to play sound defense until the scoring come alive instead of falling into a deeper deficit.
"We’ve just gotten better," Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff. "I do think the lineup we have been playing as of late is a little better defensively with its length and rebounding ability. We’ve settled in and worked on half-court defense more. It’s not easy to get better as the season goes, but I think we have done that.”
Scouting Central Michigan
Like Ohio State, Central Michigan has a balanced offensive attack where points can come from everywhere. The Chippewas have five players averaging double figures this season, including guard Presley Hudson and forward Tinara Moore, who both average over 18 points per game.
Moore was the difference in Central Michigan's 78-69 win over LSU on Saturday as she finished with 25 points and seven rebounds, holding her own against LSU's Ayana Mitchell and Khayla Pointer as the Tigers tried to win the game inside. Now, she gets a matchup with Mavunga, who led the way for Ohio State in its first round win, finishing with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
“I see it as a good matchup," Moore said. "She’s pretty athletic, but I’m ready to play tomorrow. It will be a good matchup as well."
Even if Moore doesn't thrive on Monday night and Ohio State wins the battle inside, the Chippewas are still dangerous, as there are four other dangerous scorers on the team, including Hudson, who will need to score if Central Michigan is going to match the Buckeyes' scoring.
"Presley Hudson has to shoot the basketball," Guevara said. "If she comes across half-court and nobody is on her, she has to shoot the ball.”
How It Plays Out
Central Michigan is a tough, well-rounded opponent that's difficult to beat in just one way, but the Buckeyes are simply more talented across the board.
Like Saturday, Ohio State will win this game with its talent in the post. With the size of Stephanie Mavunga, Alexa Hart and the tenacity of Linnae Harper, the Buckeyes will control the paint and the rebounding battle. Add in Kelsey Mitchell's perimeter scoring and the talent will just be too much for the Chippewas to handle.
But the Buckeyes know it's tournament time, and if they don't bring their best, any game could be their last.
“It’s all about winning," Mitchell said. "Survive and advance. You don’t want a Cinderella story. You see so many people go down on the men’s side and girl’s side so far, so at the end of the day it’s all about winning."
It won't be a 40-point blowout and it might be a close game at times, but ultimately Ohio State will come away with the win and punch its ticket to its third-straight Sweet 16.
How to Watch
The game is at 7 p.m. in St. John Arena and will be televised on ESPN2.
Prediction: Ohio State 82, Central Michigan 64
