Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff calls out a play in the first half of the game against Rutgers on March 3. Ohio State lost 66-56. Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Managing Editor for Multimedia
Ohio State women’s basketball has seen an overtime win, a close loss and a fourth-quarter comeback in its past three games, but that’s nothing compared to what’s in store.
The Buckeyes (3-1) take on No. 4 UConn (4-0) and head coach Geno Auriemma –– winners of five of the past 10 national titles –– at home Sunday.
The Huskies won 35 of their 38 games this past season, with their first victory coming by way of a 32-point blowout against the Buckeyes.
Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff said his team will need to optimize its potential in order to compete with the juggernaut program in the rematch.
“We just want to be the best version of Ohio State that we can possibly be,” head coach Kevin McGuff said.
The unbeaten UConn team comes to Columbus, Ohio, following four days of rest since their 83-44 trouncing of Virginia Tuesday.
UConn seeks to continue its streak of dominance with sophomore forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who was named the ACC Player of the Week Monday. Nelson Ododa is averaging a double-double with 12.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per contest, and her 17 blocks on the season make her the only Husky with more than two.
Junior forward Megan Walker leads the Huskies with 20 points a game, and is shooting better than 47 percent from 3-point range this season.
McGuff, who is five wins shy of 400 career victories, said his team needs to be in the right mindset from opening tip, and expect to compete for 40 minutes.
Of those 40 minutes in the Buckeyes’ opening four games, junior guard Braxtin Miller has seen the most, leading the team in 3-pointers and averaging a second-best 11.8 points per game. However, she said it’s the other side of the ball that will be more of a concern.
“Stay mentally focused, try to stay true to what we’re going to do and really lock in on defense, because that will be a huge aspect for us as well,” Miller said.
Ohio State sophomore guard Janai Crooms, who recorded her second career double-double in the team’s 75-65 win over Kent State, played in this past year’s contest against the Huskies. She said facing UConn is not the time to begin playing out of character.
“When the game comes, just play your game, don’t try to do anything outside out of the box, and do everything that you can control,” Crooms said.
UConn hasn’t lost a home game since February 2013, but the Huskies will be in Buckeye territory come Sunday.
“We got a great crowd, we have a great fan base –– I think it’ll be a terrific environment on Sunday,” Crooms said.
Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday at Value City Arena.
