Ohio State Women's Hoops Overcomes Short Bench to Recharge For the Postseason

It's funny what surprises can derail a basketball team's season. Some teams lose a series of close games, with each loss contributing to the next; some teams suffer one major injury that throws everything off-kilter; some teams have constant distractions that keep them from reaching their full potential.

This year, the Buckeyes' unluckiness concerned injuries. Few teams are better off for adversity, but Ohio State's women's basketball team might be an exception to the rule.

The Buckeyes began the year with season-ending ACL injuries for expected contributors Makaya Waterman and Chelsea Mitchell. This left the Buckeyes ludicrously shorthanded, as they were forced to use a seven-person rotation for much of the year. In one game, two Buckeyes fouled out, leaving the team with five players on the court and literally no one on the bench.

In spite of those troubles, the Buckeyes have improved. Over the first half of Big Ten play, Ohio State was 6-3. Over the second half of the conference slate, it went 7-2. OSU's 13-5 record is good for third place in the Big Ten, which is projected to send seven teams to the NCAA Tournament.

The women have some standout talent. Kelsey Mitchell, who was the nation's leading scorer one month ago, is one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Trophy, awarded to the best women's college basketball player in the country. Mitchell was named Co-Big Ten Player of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten, on which she was joined by Ameryst Alston. Alexa Hart was on the All-Freshman team and honorable mention All-Big Ten.

The team is arguably better than it was one short month ago. It is certainly better than it was in the nonconference schedule, when it lost to the likes of Virginia, Georgia, Wichita State and Pittsburgh. What has changed for the Buckeyes? In a word, balance.

For much of the year, Mitchell took 20 shots per game. Volume shooting flattered her box score – Mitchell is two makes away from the Big Ten record for most made three-pointers in a season – but the result was a stagnant offense that rushed to take low percentage shots.

Over the last half of the Big Ten schedule, however, the Buckeyes slowed down. Mitchell took 3.3 fewer shots per game, scoring less but scoring more efficiently. Her teammates took the shots she didn't, and they generally took better shots.

The primary beneficiary was Alexa Hart, Ohio State's starting forward. Hart averaged four points more per game over the second half of the Big Ten schedule than the first half. More importantly, she gave the Buckeyes an interior presence.

Ameryst Alston, Ohio State's second-leading scorer, took advantage of more looks and raised her scoring average. Cait Craft's poor shooting percentage went up, and Shayla Cooper was more effective as the sixth woman. The results of a more balanced offense: better spacing and an assist-to-turnover ratio that improved by 20 percent.

In the second half of the season, the Buckeyes did have some struggles. They continued to be iffy on the road, dropping games at Iowa and Illinois, but they were fearsome on home turf. The Buckeyes were 5-0 at the Schottenstein Center, with an average margin of victory of 15.2 points per game. The best game in that run was a blowout of No. 13 Iowa, on whom the Buckeyes hung 100 points.

Head coach Kevin McGuff's team took a few months to overcome injuries, but at last the seven players in the rotation have coalesced into a dangerous unit. Now OSU's focus is on the Big Ten Tournament.

In 2014, as the team suffered through a transition year, the Buckeyes entered the Big Ten Tournament with a lethargic 15-17 record. They caught fire in the tourney, though, defeating Northwestern and beating the stuffing out of top-seeded Penn State before falling in the semifinals.

This year, as a three seed, Ohio State has more talent and a much easier draw. They will play the Minnesota/Purdue winner in the quarterfinals on Friday, and then likely face second-seeded Iowa on Saturday. Should OSU surmount the Hawkeyes, top-seeded Maryland awaits on Sunday. The Buckeyes stayed within double digits in College Park in the season opener, so they might make a game of it.

No matter how the Buckeyes do in the Big Ten Tournament, they are a lock for the NCAA Tournament. Public of perception of Ohio State puts it ahead of several ratings indices; ESPN.com analyst Charlie Creme had the Buckeyes as a six seed (23rd overall), while RPI and Sagarin have Ohio State 36th and 26th.

With three freshman starters and a sophomore reserve, this Ohio State team is young. The Buckeyes will have three more years with Kelsey Mitchell, Alexa Hart and Asia Doss, and four with Chelsea Mitchell and Makayla Waterman. If the Buckeyes make a decent postseason run this year, next year's deeper, healthier team will have high expectations.