Indiana fifth-year guard tries to drive past fifth-year guard Jacy Sheldon (4). No. 8 Ohio State defeated No. 10 Indiana 74-69 at the Schottestein Center Sunday. Credit: Aiden Ridgway | Lantern Photographer
There’s a new No. 1 in the Big Ten.
After Nebraska took down No. 2 Iowa early Sunday, No. 5 Ohio State throttled Michigan State 86-71 in East Lansing, Michigan, firmly putting the Buckeyes atop the Big Ten with five games left in the season.
The Buckeyes (21-3, 12-1 Big Ten) found themselves in murky waters early before a pair of 6-0 runs, including a foul drawn on a missed 3-pointer by redshirt senior guard Rikki Harris, gave the Buckeyes a 26-19 lead after 10 minutes.
“I thought our pace on offense was really good,” Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff said. “I thought our offensive execution went to another level and we really got a lot of great shots during that stretch.”
Michigan State (17-7, 7-6 Big Ten) never led after a 13-12 advantage with 3:51 left in the first, and Ohio State turned an 8-0 run to end the first quarter into a 16-2 run to start the second.
Ohio State graduate guard Celeste Taylor, who came in averaging 9.3 points per game, scorched the Spartans with 16 first-half points.
“My teammates were putting me in open spots and the coaches were calling plays for me to attack the rim and get downhill,” Taylor said. “My pull-up was there so I took it and it happened to drop today.”
After graduate guard Jacy Sheldon got into foul trouble midway through the second quarter, the Buckeyes relied on a three-headed monster of Harris, redshirt sophomore guard Emma Shumate and redshirt senior Madison Greene as ball handlers to carry themselves to a 53-31 halftime lead.
“Our bench was really good tonight,” McGuff said. “I thought Emma, Madison and Rikki all gave us great minutes.”
The third quarter is where the Buckeyes have done most of their winning across their now 11 game win streak, and it continued Sunday with a 22-16 outpacing of the Spartans.
Graduate forward Rebeka Mikulášiková added eight of the team’s points in the third quarter, going 4-for-6 from the field.
“I’ve been working every practice on my game,” Mikulášiková said. “I’m trying to focus on my traveling issues because I have been struggling with that a bit. I feel like just having that confidence from my teammates and trusting myself helps me make my moves.”
Ohio State notched 28 assists on 34 made field goals, including five a piece from Sheldon, Mikulášiková and sophomore forward Cotie McMahon.
“We are really good when we share the ball,” Mikulášiková said. “I felt like there were two to three people trying to guard me and I knew my teammates would be open.”
Four Buckeyes ended up in double digits in the winning effort, led by Taylor’s 20 point, five rebound and two steals. Mikulášiková added 19 points and Sheldon rounded out the scoring with 18 points.
Next on the card for Ohio State is Nebraska, who will look to play spoiler once again on Feb. 14. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m and Peacock will broadcast.
