The last two weeks have not gone in favor of No. 13 Ohio State (23-6, 12-5 Big Ten). After winning 22 of their first 25 games, the Buckeyes have lost three of their last four games. The Buckeyes struggled against the toughest part of their Big Ten schedule, dropping games to currently ranked foes, such as Maryland, Minnesota and Michigan.
Ohio State will have one more chance to bolster its résumé before postseason play. The Buckeyes will go on the road to face No. 15 Michigan State (22-6, 11-6 Big Ten) at Noon (Big Ten Network) on Sunday.
The regular season finale will undoubtedly have major postseason implications for the Buckeyes.
According to ESPN’s Charlie Creme’s latest projections, Ohio State is still on pace to be a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and host first and second-round games. However, the Buckeyes’ latest losing skid has bumped them out of the top four of the Big Ten standings.
As the teams currently sit, Ohio State would not receive a first and second-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament. Instead, Ohio State would have to play an extra game as a No. 5 seed. The Buckeyes’ 12-5 record in the Big Ten is currently tied with Minnesota for the fourth-best in the conference, but the Golden Gophers have the head-to-head tie breaker over the Buckeyes.
Ohio State will need to win on Sunday and hope Minnesota loses to Illinois to earn a top-four seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
The Buckeyes will have their work cut out for them to pick up a much-needed regular-season ending win. Michigan State is No. 15 nationally in the NET rankings and is top-10 in the country in scoring offense, averaging 84.1 points per game.
The Spartans are led by one of the better duos in the country. Senior forward Grace VanSlooten leads the team with 15.0 points per game, but sophomore guard Kennedy Blair isn’t far behind, averaging 14.1 points per game. Blair leads the team with 7.2 rebounds per game, but VanSlooten is second on the team with 6.5 rebounds per game.
The Spartans have played well in recent weeks. After back-to-back defeats against UCLA and Michigan, the Spartans picked up comfortable wins over Northwestern and Minnesota.
In their 75-61 win over Minnesota on Feb. 22, Blair scored 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had six assists.
