No. 2 Ohio State Claims Big Ten Title, Defeats Michigan in Home Finale
The No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes capped off their regular season home schedule with a bang Wednesday night, defeating the Michigan Wolverines 67-51 at Value City Arena.
With the victory, the Buckeyes claimed the 2024 Big Ten Conference regular-season title. Ohio State also got to avenge an early loss to the Wolverines from December 30, which was their only conference defeat.
Three Buckeyes (the usual suspects) finished with double-digit points. Graduate guard Jacy Sheldon led the way with 22 points while shooting eight-of-14 (57 percent) from the floor.
Sophomore forward Cotie McMahon had the second-most points with 18, recording the most made free throws on the team with four out of eight total attempts. Finally, senior guard Celeste Taylor recorded 12 points in the effort.
Ohio State out-shot Michigan as a team both from the field (45 percent to 41 percent) and outside of the three-point arc (31 percent to 26 percent). The Wolverines dominated the Buckeyes at the free-throw line, converting 90 percent of their attempts compared to almost 65 percent for the Scarlet and Gray.
Three areas of the box score were key to Ohio State's victory: steals, blocks and turnovers. The Buckeyes ended the game ahead 19 to 6, four to one and 15-29 in those statistics, respectively.
Ohio State faces one more major test before the commencement of the 2024 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament. The Buckeyes will travel to take on Caitlyn Clark and the No. 5 Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday, March 3.
Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 1 p.m., with live coverage airing on FOX.
