After the first two rounds of the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments, only 32 teams remain in the hunt for a championship this season.
Let’s take a look at how the Buckeyes’ basketball teams have fared in March beginning with the women’s team, which is still active in the NCAA Tournament.
Women’s Basketball
The women’s team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen on Monday, surviving No. 6 UNC with a last-second basket. Ohio State led by 12 with just over seven minutes to go in the game, but North Carolina was able to chip away at the lead with a 13-2 run. The Tar Heels tied the game with a jump shot by junior guard Deja Kelly with nine seconds to go.
Knowing the Buckeyes had time to ice the game instead of having to risk overtime, head coach Kevin McGuff quickly called a timeout, drawing up one final play. Senior forward Eboni Walker caught the inbound pass and dribbled right, flipping a pass to fellow senior Jacy Sheldon at the perimeter. Sheldon dribbled inside the paint and let loose with a floater that went in with 1.8 seconds left, giving the Buckeyes a decisive 71-69 lead. The Tar Heels called a final timeout to give themselves a sliver of a chance, but redshirt junior Buckeyes guard Rikki Harris stole the ball away to ice the win.
The Buckeyes were ranked No. 12 heading into the final week of the regular season and came close to winning the Big Ten Tournament, suffering a blowout 105-72 loss against Iowa in the conference championship game. They weren’t able to win an automatic bid, but still picked up an at-large bid with ease, given the No. 3 seed in the Seattle 3 bracket.
Even better, they got to play the first two rounds at home, as Value City Arena hosted the first two rounds of the women’s tournament.
Following Selection Sunday, the women’s team opened as a long shot to win the tournament, their odds of cutting down the nets in April were listed anywhere from +3000 to +10000 at a host of Ohio area sportsbooks. With the next wave of betting lines sure to drop soon following the conclusion of Monday’s games, be sure to check back when they do… and make use of any of the bonus codes available to maximize your winnings.
Up next for the Buckeyes is the No. 2 seed UConn Huskies, who defeated No. 7 Baylor on Monday.
Men’s Basketball
The men’s team saw their season come to a disappointing end in the Big Ten tournament. After being ranked on four separate occasions during the first two months of the season, conference play proved to be too much for Ohio State as the Buckeyes went 3-14 across January and February. The Buckeyes were able to get back on course in March, beginning the month with a 73-62 win over No. 21 Maryland before reeling off three straight wins as an underdog in three days in the Big Ten Tournament.
They weren’t quite able to finish the storybook run, however, as they lost to the eventual Big Ten champion Purdue Boilermakers in the semifinals. That brought their last chance of making the NCAA Tournament to a screeching halt, as they would’ve needed an automatic bid: their 16-19 record wasn’t anywhere near good enough to secure an at-large bid.
The men’s team gets a head start on the offseason, which is a bigger advantage than one might think in the modern world of college sports. With a host of players hitting the transfer portal the second their season ends, the Buckeyes are able to get ahead of the game in scouring the portal and retooling their team for a bounce back 2023-24 season.
They’ll need to wait a bit before they can make any official moves, as the team sits with all 13 scholarship spots already taken, but some space should open up soon. True freshman Brice Sensabaugh is projected as a first-round pick should he choose to depart Columbus for the NBA Draft this season. He waved away questions about declaring for the draft during the season, but with the April 23 deadline to do so approaching fast, that situation may come to a head soon. Admittedly, losing out on a future NBA talent for the crapshoot of the transfer portal might end up hurting the team.
The Buckeyes have been linked to a number of players already, including Jamison Battle of Minnesota and Merrimack’s Jordan Minor, so they aren’t wasting any time putting feelers out.
Now it’s time to wait and see who leaves town to open up those scholarship spots.
