Texas GAMEDAY vs. Ohio State: How to Watch, Odds, Preview
The Texas Longhorns are in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Women’s Tournament, preparing to face the Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday.
Texas (28-6) is a No. 2 seed in the Spokane Region, making its second straight Sweet 16 appearance under coach Vic Schaefer, making its 17th Sweet 16 appearance and making its 33rd NCAA Tournament appearance. Texas is riding a 13-game winning streak entering the contest, which dates back to early February, right after the Longhorns lost back-to-back games to Baylor.
Texas is also one of two remaining Big 12 teams in the tournament. Iowa State, which finished second in the Big 12 and lost to Texas in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals, faces Creighton in the Greensboro Region on Friday.
Ohio State and Texas COULD have played earlier this season. This week Schaefer revealed that Ohio State was one of the teams Texas approached to replace Arizona in their Pac-12 Coast-to-Coast Challenge game when the Wildcats had to pull out due to COVID-19. OSU said no and San Diego went to play Texas instead.
Ohio State, which shared the Big Ten regular-season title with Iowa, got into the tournament as an at-large team and defeated Missouri State, 63-56, and LSU, 79-64, to get to Spokane.
Texas’ run last season ended in the Elite Eight. With two more wins, the Longhorns would reach the Final Four for the first time since 2003.
TEXAS’ LAST GAME: Forward Aaliyah Moore continued her tear for the Longhorns, as she scored 21 points, with 14 of those points concentrated in the first half after she came off the bench. In fact, at one point, she scored five straight field goals for Texas, as it built an insurmountable halftime lead. Moore has hit double figures in scoring in each of her last three games. Schaefer mentioned after that game that he toyed with moving Moore into the starting lineup. Odds are he’ll keep Moore coming off the bench so as not to disrupt the chemistry his starting lineup has built in the past 13 games.
OHIO STATE’S LAST GAME: The Buckeyes went into Baton Rouge and, after escaping their first-round game with Missouri State, beat one of the hottest teams in women’s college basketball on its home floor. The Buckeyes had a double-digit lead going into the second half and maintained it the rest of the way. Buckeyes guards Jacy Sheldon and Taylor Mikesell led the way in the game. Sheldon is a guard in the model of Texas guard Rori Harmon. She runs the offense and sets things up for Mikesell, who is one of the best 3-point shooters in the country at 47 percent. Ohio State, as a team, shoots 38 percent from distance. This is the Buckeyes’ first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2017.
NOTE: Texas is 8-2 against Ohio State all-time. The Longhorns and Buckeyes have not met since Jan. 5, 2003. The only tournament matchup between the two teams was in 1980 when Texas won 95-66. Texas was a No. 3 seed and Ohio State was a No. 6 seed. Back then, the women were still playing basketball under the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) banner. The sport would move under NCAA regulation in 1981.
QUOTABLE: “We're playing the Big Ten champions tomorrow. (Ohio State coach) Kevin (McGuff) has a heck of a team. They just really command so much attention at every spot on the floor. We're going to have to be on point, again, defensively. But then offensively we got to find a way to score some points. Just like going into the Utah game, I was really shocked we held them under 60. In fact, Saturday afternoon I gave up looking at defense. I was trying to figure out ways to score.” — Texas coach Vic Schaefer
RECORDS: No. 2 Texas (28-6) vs. No. 6 Ohio State (25-6)
WHEN: 6 p.m. Friday
LOCATION: Spokane Arena, Spokane, Wash.
TV/RADIO: ESPN2, 105.3 FM. Check TexasSports.com for a listing of affiliates carrying the game.
ODDS: Texas by 4 1/2
NEXT: Should Texas advance, the Longhorns will face either Stanford or Maryland in the Elite Eight on Sunday.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
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