Ohio State looks to avenge its ugliest loss

With a win Monday at No. 12 Michigan, the No. 16 Ohio State women’s basketball team locked up the fourth seed in next week’s Big Ten Tournament, securing a double-bye.

That’s good news for the Buckeyes, because if securing that double-bye came down to Friday’s regular-season finale against No. 7 Maryland, it would be a tall mountain to climb. On Feb. 5, the Terrapins handed Ohio State its ugliest loss of the season — a 90-54 shellacking that featured both the most points the Buckeyes had given up this season and the fewest they’d scored. Even Jacy Sheldon’s return from injury — which proved to be temporary, as she hasn’t played since that game — couldn’t help Ohio State salvage what turned into a dismal performance.

“(Maryland) played a great game and we were really bad,” coach Kevin Mcguff said. “That’s to their credit. They coached better, they played better, just everything was better about them.”

Less than three weeks later, Ohio State (23-5 overall, 12-5 Big Ten) and Maryland (23-5, 14-3) meet again Friday at Value City Arena. The Buckeyes’ slide after starting the season 19-0, with losses to the Terrapins, Indiana (twice), Iowa and Purdue, has dropped them out of contention to host the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament, and Friday’s game is one of their last chances to improve their resume.

It’s unlikely, at this point, that OSU could claw its way back into hosting the first- and second-round games, but a win over the Terrapins — and a strong run in the Big Ten Tournament — will be required if the Buckeyes are going to have a chance.

Mcguff thought his team seemed “different” in Monday’s win, more like the team that got out to a 19-0 start than the team that’s gone 4-5 since.

“We looked way more energetic in the press,” Mcguff said. “I thought that was really effective. Just our competitive spirit and will to get stops and rebounds was better. Just our commitment to execute on the offensive end, because they’re really good defensively and not easy to get good shots on.”

Accomplishing the same against the Terrapins will not be an easy task. bjohnson@dispatch.com @Baileyajohnson_