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Hello and welcome to another edition of Cus Words Sports.
Today we’re wrapping up Ohio State’s participation in the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, where the Buckeyes won two games but did not have it in them to upset No. 1 seed and second-ranked UCLA.
One last time from Indianapolis (until next time; and after the first ad break):
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The last thing Kevin McGuff said before he left the postgame interview room podium in the was his team needs to play better.
Well, that was going to be the last thing, but I decided we needed a follow-up to that so I raised my hand for one more question.
Of course, the theme coming out of the Big Ten Tournament was always going to be, “What now?”
What are this team’s prospects in the NCAA Tournament? How good are they? How good can they be?
So that remark was a great opening:
“I think we've got to turn the ball over less for sure. Then when we get the opportunities on some of the shots that we got, we've got to make a few. I thought we competed really hard defensively. I thought we competed really hard on the glass. That gave us a chance, but they played a little bit better. They played better on offense than we did, and I think ultimately that was the difference.”
Unlike the olden days when I used to cover this team for Buckeye Sports Bulletin (2007-15), the Big Ten provides many opportunities to find out just how good Ohio State is.
To wit: The Buckeyes have played 13 games against ranked opponents, including their win over Minnesota on Friday. Seven of those were against top 10 teams, and 10 were played away from home.
They got to face UCLA twice and lost both relatively close: The first time it was 82-75 in Columbus in late December. Then there was the 72-62 loss Saturday.
Ohio State did not play its best in either game, but the Buckeyes held their own.
That might sound like loser talk, but here’s the thing: Those are two of the three closest games the Bruins have played since they lost to Texas (their only loss) in late November. (The other was a 69-66 win at Michigan.)
This time around, senior guard Chance Gray kept the Buckeyes in it with 23 points, but they aren’t going to win many games when they only shoot 36.8% from the field. That is especially true if they only force 12 turnovers, including five in the last three quarters.
UCLA also missed some good looks from 3-point range, but the Bruins very much pass the look test for a team that is 30-1.
They have the Big Ten’s best player and center (Lauren Betts) and an All-Big Ten point guard (Kiki Rice) plus two more guards who average double figures in scoring. Besides the 6-7 Betts, they have five more players who are listed at 6-3 or 6-4, and those guards are all listed 5-11 or 6-foot.
So they are talented, tall and skilled. Oh, did I mention they are old, too?
All five starters are seniors so coach Cori Close is doing that whole, “Get old and stay old” thing that is now the mantra of many in the NIL/transfer portal era the right way.
But this is not about UCLA.
We’re talking about Ohio State women’s basketball, and so was Close after the game.
“First of all, Ohio State, they play so hard. I just think they just keep coming at you over and over again. I thought there were plenty of times where we had an opportunity to maybe stretch it out, and they created a quick turnover, got an offensive board.
I just want to say they're a really good team. The way that their guards fight to get around, especially with our four-player mismatch, I just think they showed a lot of fight, and I think they're going to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.”
Minnesota coach Dawn Plitzuweit also had some interesting things to say about the Buckeyes after they lost 60-55 to Ohio State:
“First of all, I would like to congratulate Ohio State. I thought they played a really good game, I thought they were really aggressive, made us feel really uncomfortable, got us sped up in a lot of ways, and forced us to turn the ball over in either full-court scenario or even in the half-court scenario. And then I thought when we had good opportunities, even in the fourth quarter, we just looked like we felt sped up and rushed a little bit and didn't capitalize on a lot of those.”
And on Ohio State’s All-Big Ten point guard, Jaloni Cambridge:
“Well, she's so challenging because she's so good in transition. So you’ve got to be very, very acutely aware of where she's at and what she's doing. It’s not like the first move, she has the speed to get by you in the first move, but then she also has the hesitation or stop, start, and ability to re-attack. She has the ability, and I thought the last layup that she had, she kind of split two kids and got to the rim.
“But her ability to finish at the rim is very, very special because a lot of players, even if they can get to that point struggle to score at the rim the way that she does.”
I already wrote about Ohio State’s second round incineration of Indiana on Thursday afternoon.
I held off sending another newsletter Friday because I figured one way or another there would be news to come out of Saturday: Either they would shock the world and beat the Bruins or be sent home with some wounds to lick and time to prepare for the Big Dance.
The Minnesota and UCLA games were interesting matchups because both of those teams are built more like the old Ohio State teams I used to cover when Jim Foster was the coach: Big center, legitimate power forward, good point guard and solid supporting cast.
Read more:
Under McGuff, Ohio State is built to play the prevailing style of basketball today with four guards, lots of speed and athleticism and outside shooting.
The Buckeyes rely heavily on an intimidating press that creates extra possessions and easy baskets, and they will turn teams over in the half-court, too.
Neither style is better than the other as long as you’re executing, but I thought the juxtaposition was interesting, and McGuff agreed about the contrast of styles in the Minnesota game.
“I think it's a good question and a good point. The first time we played them they won the battle of old school/new school when they beat us at their place, and deservedly so. Today, I thought we got the pace going a little bit more. I also thought -- Sophie Hart was amazing the first quarter, and I thought Elsa really picked up her defense and her overall presence around the basket, and I think that had a huge impact on the game.”
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Also worth noting that Lemmila, a 6-6 sophomore from Switzerland, played very well against Minnesota and held her own against the Bruins, but she was outnumbered.
Redshirt freshman Kylee Kitts, a 6-4 stretch 4 in McGuff’s offense, is their next-best big. She was coming on in midseason when she hurt her shoulder, and McGuff said Saturday they were tougher to play against when she was at full strength.
She’s back but still finding her way.
Ideally, both Lemmila and Kitts will be back along with Cambridge to build around next season, but little is guaranteed in college basketball these days and that’s something to worry about later.
After being upset in the second round the last two years (following a historic run to the Elite Eight that included knocking off UConn in 2023), there is some pressure on the Buckeyes to get back to the Sweet 16.
Can they do it?
No doubt about it, but matchups matter a lot in March, so we’ll have to wait and see what the draw looks like next Sunday.
Before that, Ohio State begins spring football Tuesday, so be sure to keep an eye out for the first updates on that.
Here’s my preview in case you missed it Friday:
That’s all for now, but remember if you want to see more of what's being said during Ohio State interviews, check out my YouTube channel.
I’ve also got a new Facebook page you can find here.
