Ohio State Women's Basketball Opens NCAA Tournament Against James Madison
The Ohio State women's basketball team begins their run in the NCAA Tournament run at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio against James Madison Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
The third-seeded Buckeyes are 18-point favorites against the 14-seed Dukes, a gap that is no doubt partially due to the fact that the Scarlet and Gray are playing on their home floor. Ohio State finished the regular season with an 11-4 record at home.
Ohio State is 6-0 all-time against James Madison. The first postseason meeting between the Buckeyes and the Dukes was back on March 19, 1989 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and ended with an 81-66 victory for the Scarlet and Gray.
The most recent matchup between Ohio State and James Madison came in the opening round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Buckeyes prevailed by ten points, 90-80.
Ohio State ended the season with an impressive 25-7 overall record, and finished .500 in the Big Ten Conference at 12-6. Senior guard Taylor Mikesell was the Buckeyes' leading scorer, averaging 17.3 points per game while shooting a team-high 85.5 free-throw percentage (minimum ten attempts).
The Dukes went 26-7 overall and 13-5 in conference play this year. James Madison's top offensive weapon, averaging 18.3 points and 7.9 assists per game, is senior guard Kiki Jefferson.
The last time James Madison was on the floor was March 6, when it defeated Texas State 81-51 in the Sun Belt Conference championship game. Ohio State also played for a conference title their last time out, but fell to Iowa, 105-72.
Saturday's game between the Buckeyes and Dukes airs at 1:30 p.m. nationally on ESPN2, and locally on 97.1 The Fan and the Ohio State Sports Network.
Be sure to stay locked into BuckeyesNow all the time!
Join the BuckeyesNow community!
Subscribe to the BuckeyesNow YouTube channel
You can follow Caleb Spinner on Twitter: @CalebSpinner
Follow BuckeyesNow on Twitter: @BuckeyesNow_FN
Follow BuckeyesNow on Instagram: @BuckeyesNow_FN
