After two-week break, Ohio State women ready to begin 2023 NCAA Tournament at home
It's been a long two weeks for the Ohio State women's basketball team.
After losing to Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament championship game March 5 — a blowout loss in a game that was out of reach by the end of the first quarter — the Buckeyes had to wait a full week until they learned their seeding for the NCAA Tournament. They earned a No. 3 seed and will host the first two rounds at Value City Arena, but they faced another six-day wait before they can step on the court against No. 14-seed James Madison on Saturday.
"We started out the week really kind of focusing on ourselves, trying to create the best version of ourselves that we can be here heading into the tournament," OSU coach Kevin McGuff said. "As the week has gone along, we’ve mixed in a lot more preparation for James Madison. ... It’s just always a long stretch between when you get done playing in the Big Ten to when to play your first tournament game."
The Dukes, who are making their 13th NCAA Tournament appearance, won the regular season and conference tournament titles in the Sun Belt. They are led by guard Kiki Jefferson, who averages 18.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.
"They’re a team that’s used to being in the tournament, so I know they’re going to show up prepared," McGuff said. "They have an elite player in Kiki Jefferson who’s going to be a real challenge for us. ... They also have good post players. They’ve got some balance in what they do. They play a lot of man but they’ll also switch their defenses, maybe throw a little press in there to slow us down. I think our ability to recognize what they’re doing and stay organized and execute accordingly will be really important."
Playing at home adds a welcome degree of familiarity for the Buckeyes, who faced a challenging environment in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, last year. But Ohio State's win over LSU in the second round also is a reminder that the home team is by no means guaranteed to advance.
For senior guard Taylor Mikesell, playing in her final NCAA Tournament, there is a particular emphasis on not taking anything for granted.
"You really have to take it one day at a time," Mikesell said. "You can’t take for granted walking into this facility, having practice or playing a game, because it could be your last. I think that adds a little bit extra to it, just focusing on what’s at hand."
After starting the season 19-0, Ohio State hit a skid in late January and dropped six of its last 10 regular-season games. The Buckeyes started to rebound from the slump in the final week of the regular season and rode that momentum into the Big Ten Tournament. But the ugly loss to Iowa in the championship game brought another lesson to learn before the NCAA Tournament.
"Kind of polar opposite halves," Mikesell said. "We actually beat them in the second half. Obviously, learning from the first half, and then just using the information from the second half as a growing point. We know that we’re capable of playing with anyone, but we have to show up and play like we did in the Indiana game and games like that, or you see the other side of it."
Ohio State's dramatic, 24-point comeback over the Hoosiers in the semifinals was fueled in part by senior point guard Jacy Sheldon, who scored 12 points — her most since scoring 22 on Nov. 30, which was the last game she played before missing more than two months with a lower leg injury.
McGuff expects Sheldon to play a larger role in the NCAA Tournament than she did in the conference tournament, and the two weeks between games have given Sheldon additional time to get prepared.
It was a long wait between games for the Buckeyes, but having Sheldon able to play more minutes is worth the wait for Ohio State.
"She’ll play more," McGuff said. "As we’ve had just more time, I think she’s feeling more comfortable. I don’t know that we have an exact (number of) minutes, but it will be more of an impact than it was in Minneapolis."
Added Mikesell: "Obviously, her game speaks for itself, and all her accolades. But we really missed having her as far as a leader and her experience. ... It’s kind of everybody trying to piece things together. I think we did as good of a job as we could’ve, but until you have (Sheldon) back, it’s kind of hard to fully fill that role."
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State hosts James Madison to open 2023 NCAA Tournament
