No. 2 Ohio State Set to Host 'Red-Hot' Nebraska
Eleven in a row.
The Buckeyes’ 11-game win streak will be tested against what head coach Kevin McGuff called a “red-hot Nebraska team” Wednesday.
Ohio State (21-3, 12-1 Big Ten), who has not lost a game in 2024, welcomes the Cornhuskers (16-8, 8-5 Big Ten), who are coming off a big fourth-quarter comeback win vs. then-No. 2 Iowa Sunday.
Now the new No. 2 team in the nation, the Buckeyes are staying humble. McGuff said before practice Tuesday that “it’s always the same” for them.
“We’ve got a big game tomorrow against a red-hot Nebraska team that’s coming off a great win. We need an excellent practice today and all our focus on the game tomorrow,” McGuff said.
McGuff said Nebraska junior center Alexis Markowski and freshman forward Natalie Potts have been dominant down low all season, giving Buckeye senior center Rebeka Mikulasikova yet another test in the post.
“Their post play is really good,” McGuff said. “And obviously, you combine that with [senior guard] Jaz Shelley on the perimeter, they’ve got good offense in how they can score the ball, so defense will need to be really on point for us to be successful.”
The Cornhuskers outscored Iowa 27-10 in the final period Sunday and have consistently been a second-half team. McGuff said his team, who has likely been one of the best third-quarter teams in the country, has to take off from the tip.
“They’ve been really good in the second half,” McGuff said. “They did an amazing job closing out that game vs. Iowa. We’ll have to be ready to play a 40-minute game.”
Mikulaskova — who has come out on top against conference bigs including Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes and Wisconsin’s Serah Marshall — said Tuesday that she’s worked on her post defense and improved her mental game and is ready for whatever the bigs throw at her.
“[I’ve been] working on my mentality and working on not getting in my head so much if things don’t go my way,” Mikulaskova said.
Graduate guard Jacy Sheldon said Tuesday that she’s seen Mikulaskova grow so much physically and emotionally the last two seasons especially. She emphasized that the Buckeye culture has been a welcoming one and their chemistry has been “building.”
“I don’t even know, truly, if we have clicked yet, which is a good thing,” Sheldon said.
The Dublin, Ohio, native has led this team thus far this season with a lot of depth behind her; she may hope she can lead her team in a head-to-head battle with a team that plays 10 players more than 10 minutes a game.
The Buckeyes and Huskers tip-off from Value City Arena at 7 p.m., streaming on Peacock.
