The Buckeyes received the No. 3 seed ahead of the NCAA Tournament and will play No. 14 seed James Madison Saturday at the Schottenstein Center. Credit: Katie Good | Asst. Photo Editor
The Buckeyes received the No. 3 seed ahead of the NCAA Tournament and will play No. 14 seed James Madison Saturday at the Schottenstein Center.
No. 14 seed James Madison (26-7, Sun Belt Conference 13-5) is coming off an impressive season as the No. 1 seed and tournament champions in the Sun Belt.
The Dukes won the Sun Belt Championship 81-51 against No. 2 seed Texas State on Monday. James Madison won in convincing fashion after having double-digit leads in all three of its tournament matchups.
The Dukes are led by senior guard Kiki Jefferson who averages 18.3 points per game while leading the team in rebounds with 7.9. Junior guard Peyton McDaniel follows, scoring 11.9 points per game and leads the team in 3-point percentage while also averaging 2.4 3s a game.
James Madison comes in scoring 69.7 points per game while holding opponents to 60.2. James Madison is 12-3 on the road this season and will try to make history as the first No. 14 seed to win a NCAA Tournament game.
Ohio State will look to continue its historic season as it makes its 27th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Buckeyes moved up two spots on the Associated Press Top-25 Poll to No. 12 after having their own impressive Big Ten Tournament run to the championship game.
The Buckeyes advanced to the Big Ten Tournament championship to face No. 2 seed Iowa after snagging victories against fifth-seeded Michigan in the quarterfinals and, after erasing a 24-point deficit, against top-seeded Indiana in the semifinals.
But the Buckeyes fell short on Sunday in their hopes of bringing home a Big Ten Tournament title.
Ohio State lost 105-72 against Iowa in Minneapolis at the Target Center, after the Hawkeyes outscored the Buckeyes by 37 points entering halftime. Head coach Kevin McGuff’s team picked up the pace in the second half as the Buckeyes shot 45 percent from the field and 8-of-17 from 3, but it wasn’t enough to stop junior guard Caitlin Clark who finished the game with her second-triple double against the Buckeyes.
Ohio State’s impressive stretch in the conference tournament led them to the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, with a home game in the first round set for Saturday.
The tipoff time is yet to be determined.
