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Hello from the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament!
Yes, I just couldn’t get enough for Indianapolis, so I’m back in the Circle City for a second week in a row after spending three nights here last week for the NFL Scouting Combine.
(Here are my Ohio State football takeaways from the Combine if you missed them. I also wrote about the Bengals while here.)
Coach Kevin McGuff’s Buckeyes were big favorites against Indiana on Thursday, but the calendar says March, so you never know what might happen…
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Ohio State started a bit slowly Thursday in a second round game against the Hoosiers, but all’s well that ends well: Jaloni Cambridge scored 19 points, Chance Gray added 18, and Kennedy Cambridge had 14.
Ohio State won going away, 83-59, in front of 5,962 fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, a great place to watch a basketball game if I’ve ever seen one.
The fifth-seeded Buckeyes found themselves after falling behind 12-6.
Redshirt freshman Kylee Kitts tied the score on a finger roll off a pretty pass from Ava Watson with seven seconds left in the quarter, and Ohio Stat never looked back.
That was part of an 18-2 run that staggered the No. 13-seed Hoosiers, who erased a 20-point deficit Wednesday against Nebraska but had no such run in them this time.
Once the Buckeyes got comfortable, they seemed to be in a good flow on both sides of the ball.
“Yeah, we've been in this position many times before. We needed to let the game come to us. That's what we did, just settling in. They all were good shots. Just making sure we're taking our time and making sure we're making those shots.”
Their pressure defense kept the Hoosiers off balance, and they were able to generate open shots inside and out.
“Their press in itself really, really is disruptive. It slows you down. It takes you out of any kind of offensive flow, offensive rhythm.
“Unless you can get a hit ahead to a layup, they do such a great job of recovering and getting back. Then they force you to have to play in the half-court as well. They switch everything. Like I said, they're disruptive. They got to balls way faster than we did, even those loose balls. They're terrific. When you think about Ohio State, you think about, first and foremost, their pressure. It’s outstanding.”
McGuff confirmed it is always nice to get that first one under the belt in a tournament setting.
“It's sort of cliche to say, but you've got to win the first one before you can win the second. The thing about this year in particular, the Big Ten is so strong. Regardless of who you're playing, you’re going to have a tough opponent.
“Like I said, give Indiana credit, they've had a really great back end of the Big Ten season and have played extremely well and did a great job yesterday. We knew we'd have to play well to win today, so it was nice to get that under our belt and hopefully get comfortable with the arena, and hopefully that helps us tomorrow.”
The Buckeyes will be back in action Friday afternoon against Minnesota.
The Golden Gophers are the No. 4 seed by virtue of their 74-61 win over Ohio State on Feb. 18.
That was part of a stretch in which the Buckeyes lost three out of four after reaching No. 8 in the Associated Press poll.
Now they have won two in a row and are looking not only for revenge against the Golden Gophers but also to shore up their chance to host first- and second-round games in the NCAA Tournament.
“They're a very good team. They're well-coached. The thing about Minnesota is they've got balance in what they do and they've got a great post player in Sophie Hart. They've got excellent perimeter players. I think once again our defense will have to be really, really good.
“Like a little bit of a different way than it was today in that we got -- we weren't real effective defensively around the basket at Minnesota, and we'll have to be much better with our interior defense to win.
“Our perimeter defense was good today, and that will have to be good tomorrow because they've got great perimeter players, but we have to match that with interior defense as well if we want to be successful.
That game will tip around 2:30 Friday afternoon.
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BONUS COVERAGE!
Before heading west again, I covered high school basketball for a couple nights for Press Pros Magazine.
We’re getting down near the end of the basketball season in high school and college… and oh yeah, Ohio State starts spring football next week.
Stay tuned for more on that!