Ohio State junior guard Cotie McMahon reacts to a foul call in the game against Maryland Thursday. The Buckeyes defeated the Terrapins 74-66. Credit: Sandra Fu | Photo Editor
The Buckeyes are officially playing to win or go home.
In pursuit of a deep NCAA Tournament run, Ohio State’s first obstacle is the Big Sky Conference’s tournament champion, the Montana State Bobcats.
In the first round of March Madness, No. 4 Ohio State (25-6, 13-5 Big Ten) will host No. 13 Montana State (30-3, 17-1 Big Sky) at the Schottenstein Center Friday at 5:30 p.m.
The Buckeyes, who finished with a perfect 15-0 record on home court for the first time since the 2011-12 season, look to remain unbeaten in Columbus.
Head coach Kevin McGuff expressed his excitement to play a postseason home game during a Sunday press conference following the NCAA Tournament bracket reveal.
“Really happy to be hosting and giving our players a chance to play in front of our great fans again,” McGuff said at the press conference.
Ohio State — one of 12 Big Ten teams to make the NCAA Tournament — is led by First Team All-Big Ten recipient and forward Cotie McMahon and guard Jaloni Cambridge, who was also named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
The Buckeyes enter the NCAA Tournament coming off a 75-46 semifinal Big Ten Tournament loss to No. 1 UCLA. Despite this being the team’s largest loss of the year, guard Chance Gray said Ohio State is shifting its attention toward what’s ahead.
“We had a really good couple of days of practice,” Gray said. “We always try to do a better job of not dwelling on the loss, but moving on and getting better the next day.”
Montana State, on the other hand, will make its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance after one of its best seasons in program history. The Bobcats shattered their record for most wins in a year and are led by the Big Sky’s Most Valuable Player, guard Esmeralda Morales.
Morales leads the Bobcats with 15.3 points per game, but she’s not their only scoring threat. Montana State has a variety of offensive weapons, ranking 11th in the country in bench points with 27.2 per game.
Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year Taylee Chirrick leads the Bobcats defensively, helping them to allow the fewest points in the conference. They also rank fifth in the country in forcing turnovers with 23.7 per game, just above the Buckeyes, who force an average of 22.1 per game.
One aspect the Bobcats struggle with is defensive rebounding, as they rank 314th out of 349 Division I schools in the category.
During its season, Montana State faced only one team that made the tournament: No. 8 Utah. In their Nov. 24, 2024 matchup, the Bobcats fell 72-53.
To compare, the Buckeyes have faced 11 NCAA Tournament teams during their 2024-25 campaign.
If Ohio State defeats Montana State, the Buckeyes will advance to the second round Sunday, hosting the winner of No. 5 Tennessee versus No. 12 South Florida.
But the Buckeyes aren’t overlooking an impressive Montana State team.
“We’ll take it one game at a time, but we know we’re going to have to be very good to win our first one and advance anywhere beyond that,” McGuff said.
The first-ever clash of Ohio State and Montana State will be broadcast on ESPN2 and can be listened to on 1460AM radio.
