Top-seeded Buckeyes still have something to prove
Ohio State players eventually will be sized for rings for winning a second straight Big Ten regular-season championship, but they knew just the same that burning questions would be asked during a news conference leading to the conference tournament.
Are the Buckeyes the team that won their final eight conference games against the bottom-feeders by walkovers? Or are they the team that struggled mightily, especially on defense, while being pushed around by Michigan, Maryland and Iowa in January?
As the No. 1 seed, Ohio State (24-6) has a double bye to the quarterfinals. It will play Purdue or Rutgers at noon Friday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
“The seasons are long,” coach Kevin McGuff said. “You see it in football and men’s and women’s basketball. There are high points and low points. There’s not going to be smooth sailing for anybody, and we’ve reacted as best as we could to some down stretches. I think we’ll play hard. Everybody else is going to show up and play hard, too. It’s how well we execute and how Rutgers or Purdue Noon Friday None WBNS-AM (1460)
well we play.”
The Buckeyes, who according to the NCAA are No. 6 in the RPI ranking and No. 7 in strength of schedule, will attempt to nail down the right to host a first- and second-round regional. They are ranked 13th nationally.
They might get rematches against Iowa in a semifinal and Maryland or Michigan in the final. The Hawkeyes defeated Ohio State 103-89 on Jan. 25, Michigan prevailed 84-75 on Jan. 16 and Maryland won 99-69 on Jan. 22, a three-game losing streak that dropped the Buckeyes to 5-3 in the conference.
“When you think about it like that, you are jumping, jumping and jumping (ahead),” senior center Stephanie Mavunga said. “You have to take every game one at a time. Yes, it’s a tournament, but it’s a marathon and not a sprint. Right now, we’re thinking about playing the winner of Rutgers and Purdue. That’s one game. If you win, God willing, you go on to the next game.”
Senior guard Kelsey Mitchell said it’s not a bad thing that the team hasn’t reached its peak.
“I think we can be so much better,” she said. “Everybody on this team does something very, very special, and if you can do that collectively get that together and peak in March in the Big Ten tournament it would be great — in our favor.”
She later said, “When we prepare ourselves, we can make anything possible.”
Ohio State has won the Big Ten tournament five times, but not since 2011. Last season, it defeated Northwestern in the quarterfinals and lost to Purdue in the semifinals. Maryland has won three straight titles.
McGuff said the conference has never been stronger from top to bottom. The NCAA rates the Big Ten as third nationally behind the Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference.
“I think we’re deeper, more talented,” he said. “We’ve always had good coaches. You always are going to play somebody well-prepared. As the No. 1 seed, we’re going to have a very difficult game in round one.”