Ohio State, winners of 11 straight games with a 21-3 overall record with a 12-1 record in conference play, now holds sole possession of first place in the Big Ten following Sunday’s win over Michigan State with just three weeks to go in the regular season.
The Buckeyes had been tied atop the conference standings with Iowa, which suffered an upset loss to Nebraska on Sunday and saw its record fall to 22-3 overall and 11-2 in conference play. Indiana (20-3, 11-2) is next up in the standings while Nebraska (16-8, 8-5), next closest, visits Ohio State on Wednesday.
Ohio State would win sole possession of the Big Ten if it were to win out, with games left against Nebraska, at Penn State (Feb. 22), vs. Maryland (Feb. 25), vs. Michigan (Feb. 28) – which handed the Buckeyes their only conference loss of the season thus far – and at Iowa on March 3 to close out the regular season
But if the Buckeyes were to lose one game before March 3, Iowa would be able to win a share of the regular-season title with a victory, and if Ohio State were to lose multiple games before March 3, a win by the Hawkeyes would give them sole possession of first in the Big Ten, assuming they win the rest of their games.
If Ohio State wins out otherwise but was to lose in Iowa City, the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes would share the regular-season title, as the Big Ten does not have a regular-season tiebreaker, though a tiebreaker would be used to determine the top seed in the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Ohio State last won the Big Ten regular-season championship in 2021-22, sharing the title with Iowa. The Buckeyes’ last sole title came in 2017-18, and Ohio State leads the conference with 16 Big Ten regular-season championships – individual or shared – dating back to 1983.
