The Ohio State women's basketball team won its first regular-season Big Ten championship since the 2009-10 season. The Buckeyes will look to complete the conference sweep this weekend in Indianapolis by winning the Big Ten Tournament title.
As the top seed, Ohio State earned a double bye and will open tournament play against No. 9 seed Northwestern on Friday after the Wildcats downed No. 8 seed Iowa 78-73 on Thursday.
With a win over Northwestern, the Buckeyes would face the winner of Friday's game between No. 4 seed Indiana and No. 5 seed Purdue in a Saturday semi-final. Ohio State went a perfect 3-0 against those teams during the regular season.
Thankfully for the Buckeyes, the three teams posing the biggest threat to their tournament run are on the other side of the bracket.
Michigan State may be just a No. 6 seed in the tournament, but the Spartans have been Ohio State's kryptonite of late. Sparty is the only Big Ten team to beat the Buckeyes this season, which was the third-straight time Michigan State downed the Scarlet and Gray. Led by prolific shooter Tori Jankoska, the Spartans are a dangerous team. However, they'll have to go through Michigan and likely Maryland to even get a shot at Ohio State.
The Wolverines are the No. 3 seed in the tournament and are the only Big Ten team besides Maryland and Ohio State to receive votes in the latest AP Poll. The Buckeyes beat Michigan early in the season, but it wasn't without a struggle. Michigan guard Katelynn Flaherty kept the Wolverines in the game, dropping 38 points on the Ohio State defense.
Maryland is seen by most as the best team in the conference, even though the Buckeyes beat the Terrapins 98-87 last week. Maryland is ranked No. 4 in the country and has just two losses on the season – one from Ohio State and one from No. 1 UConn. Beating the Terrapins once took the best offensive performance of the season; beating them twice would be no easy task, especially without the team's top rebounder and second-leading scorer Stephanie Mavunga. However, the Buckeyes have had Maryland's number; Maryland has just three losses since joining the Big Ten in 2013 – all have come from Ohio State.
Of course, a Big Ten Tournament title is on the line this weekend, but that's not all the Buckeyes are playing for. As it stands, Ohio State would be a No. 4 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament and host games the opening weekend. An early loss might keep the Buckeyes from hosting games. On the other hand, a good showing could boost the team's tournament resume and give them a stronger seed.
Ohio State begins Big Ten Tournament play Friday at noon against No. 9 seed Northwestern. With a win, the Buckeyes will play the winner of Friday's Indiana vs. Purdue game at 4 p.m. on Saturday. If Ohio State wins those two, the Big Ten Championship Game is slated for 7 p.m. on Sunday.
