The NCAA Selection Committee revealed the bracket for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament on Sunday, and Ohio State will be dancing as a No. 2 seed, set to host No. 15 Maine in the first round at The Schottenstein Center next week.
As one of the top 16 seeds for the entire field, Ohio State will play host to first- and second-round games for the Portland 1 region. Should the Buckeyes advance to the second weekend, they will play in Portland, Ore., with the Final Four set to be played at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.
Ohio State earned the No. 2 seed after finishing the regular season with a 25-4 record and a 16-2 record in conference play, winning the outright Big Ten regular-season championship, though the Buckeyes lost in their first game of the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament to Maryland.
Even so, Ohio State still appeared to be one of the nation’s best teams as the regular season came to a close, led by the likes of guard Jacy Sheldon and forward Cotie McMahon – both first-team All-Big Ten selections – and Celeste Taylor, who was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Head coach Kevin McGuff was also named Big Ten Coach of the Year.
Ohio State appeared to be in the driver’s seat for a No. 1 seed for much of the latter part of the season, especially following ranked wins over Iowa and Indiana in January. But back-to-back losses against Iowa to close the regular season – a defeat that snapped a 14-game winning streak – and Maryland knocked Ohio State off the one-seed line. Instead, the No. 1 seeds belong to South Carolina, Iowa, USC and Texas, with the Trojans the top seed in Ohio State’s region.
No. 3 UConn and No. 4 Virginia Tech will also host games in Ohio State’s region, while other notable teams in the region include No. 5 Baylor and No. 6 Syracuse. Should the Buckeyes get past Maine, they will play either No. 7 Duke or No. 10 Richmond, with a potential rematch against the Huskies looming in the Sweet 16. Ohio State is joined in the field by several Big Ten opponents, including the Hawkeyes, No. 4 Indiana, No. 6 Nebraska and No. 9 Michigan State, among others.
This is the eigth time Ohio State has recieved a No. 2 seed or better, and the first time since 2015-16 that the Buckeyes earned at least a No. 2 seed. Ohio State will be looking to build on last year’s tournament run in which the third-seeded Buckeyes made it to the Elite Eight for just the second time in program history.
