Ohio State To Face Notre Dame, Hidalgo, With First Sweet 16 Appearance Since 2023 At Stake

When No. 3 Ohio State (27-7) takes on No. 6 Notre Dame (23-10) on Monday at 4:00 p.m. at Value City Arena, not only will its season be on the line, but a chance at redemption is at stake for head coach Kevin McGuff and the rest of the Buckeyes.

In the last two seasons, the Buckeyes have had a chance to reach the Sweet 16 with, but fell at home in the round of 32 each year, losing to Duke and Tennessee, respectively.

The Buckeyes find themselves in a similar situation this year, hosting a big-name opponent that is seemingly playing well at the right time.

“We’ve got a really good team that we’re playing,” McGuff said on Sunday. “Notre Dame is interesting. They’re like us in that where they were at the beginning of the year to where they were at the end, is completely different. They have played their best basketball at the end of the year, and so although they’re a six seed, they’re playing better than that with the way they’ve played in the last month of the year. We know that we’ll have to play really well to win.”

Starting the year just 7-6 in ACC play, Notre Dame ended its regular season on a five-game winning streak to carry some serious momentum into postseason play. The Fighting Irish continued to prove themselves in the ACC Tournament, picking up dominant wins over Miami and NC State to advance to the championship game.

Squaring off against Duke, the ACC’s regular-season winners, in the finals of the tournament, Notre Dame was very competitive. The Fighting Irish led by five points in the fourth quarter in that game, before ultimately losing 65-63.

Three-time All-America guard Hannah Hidalgo has been a big reason for Notre Dame’s resurgence. Hidalgo has scored at least 23 points per game in each of Notre Dame’s last eight games, but she’s also been very consistent all season.

For the entire season, Hidalgo is averaging 25.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 5.5 steals per game, while shooting 47.8 percent from the field.

Hidalgo and the rest of her team played the way they’ve been playing over the last few weeks when they dominated No. 11 Fairfield 79-60 on Saturday in the first round of that game.

Notre Dame never trailed in that game, and Hidalgo went for 23 points, nine rebounds, six assists and eight steals.

McGuff said he knows his team won’t be able to take Hidalgo out of the game, but he hopes they can limit her as much as possible on Monday.

“I think, in general, you’re not going to necessarily stop her,” McGuff said. “But can we slow her down. We can make her really work for the shots that she gets. I think that will be the key. It’s not like we’re going to shut her out, but we don’t want to give her anything easy, we want to make her work for the shots that she does get and hopefully through that kind of we can have some effectiveness. But she’s a terrific player, as good a guard a there is in the country.”

The Buckeyes’ round of 32 game will be broadcast live on ESPN. The winner of the game will advance to the Regional 1 semifinal in Fort Worth.