Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon surpasses 2,000 career points

One of the greatest to ever do it at Ohio State! #GoBucks

The Ohio State women opened up NCAA tournament play with a big-time win over No. 15 seed Maine on Friday afternoon. After a less-than-stellar finish to the regular season and Big Ten Tournament, the Buckeyes wanted to come out firing on all cylinders. And boy did they, taking down the Black Bears by a score of 80-57.

During the contest, Jacy Sheldon hit yet another career milestone as she surpassed 2,000 career points in Scarlet and Gray. The bucket would come late in the second quarter on a Sheldon drive to the basket finishing with an and one. Sheldon led the Buckeye’s scoring attack with 19 points.

Ohio State now prepares to face Duke in the round of 32 who took down Richmond later in the day by a score of 72-61. The matchup with the Blue Devils will see Celeste Taylor play her former team after transferring to Ohio State this past year.

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Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon named a finalist for Nancy Lieberman Award

Vote Jacy! #GoBucks

With the regular season now complete, postseason awards are just around the corner. The Ohio State women’s basketball team has had a phenomenal season, led by senior point guard Jacy Sheldon.

Recently, Sheldon has been recognized for her accomplishments on the floor by being named as a top-five finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award. The award is given out each year to the most outstanding point guard in all of college basketball.

Sheldon averages 18.2 points per game while shooting at over 51 percent. According to the Ohio State Athletics website, she sits eighth on the all-time score list in Buckeye women’s basketball history and is just one of three players to have 1,900 points, 400 rebounds, 350 assists, 200 steals, and 150 three-pointers made.

Sheldon will face some pretty stiff competition for the award going up against two-time defending recipient, Caitlin Clark of Iowa. Others on the list include Georgia Amore of Virginia Tech, Hannah Hildalgo of Notre Dame, and Te-Hina Paopao of South Carolina.

You can help Sheldon out with the fan vote that will begin on Friday, March 9 on the Hoop Hall Awards website.

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Jacy Sheldon makes late season Wooden Award watchlist

Sheldon is having one whale of a year. #GoBucks

It’s been a pretty fun and exciting year for the Ohio State women’s basketball team thus far throughout the 2023-2024 season. One reason for that is senior guard Jacy Sheldon, who made the decision to come back for one more season in the Scarlet and Gray.

She’s been a difference-maker her entire career, but now she’s getting more recognition that she’s probably gotten so far. For more proof, look no further than the latest Wooden late season watchlist that was released on Tuesday. Sheldon is one of 20 names that made the cut and will still be in consideration for the award that goes to the best women’s college basketball player annually.

So far this season, Sheldon is averaging a team-leading 17.6 points per contest to go along with 3.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.2 steals per contest in over 33 minutes per game.

The Wooden Award recipient will be announced on Tuesday, April 4 on ESPN. We’ll keep an eye on where Sheldon is in all of the shenanigans leading up to that date.

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Rutgers women’s basketball looking to end six game skid in matchup with Ohio State

Rutgers women’s basketball plays No. 17 Ohio State on Thursday night.

On Thursday night, Rutgers women’s basketball will be looking to turn their season around against the No. 17 Ohio State. Rutgers has lost six straight after starting the season 6-5. They are also 0-4 in conference play.

As the Scarlet Knights look to end their Big Ten struggles, they will need a big game from their stars. That includes Kaylene Smikle and Destiny Adams. Smikle is averaging a team-high 16.1 points a game a season, while Adams has been a rebounds machine, averaging 7.4 rebounds a game.

Their biggest challenge will be stopping Jacy Sheldon, who has set the offensive tone for Ohio State. In the Buckeyes most recent win over Northwestern on Friday, the Ohio native scored 18 points. Sheldon has reached the 30-point mark twice in her last five games.

 

Additionally, the Buckeyes have fared well in conference play this season. They have posted a 2-1 mark, the third-best record in the Big Ten. It would be one of their best wins of the season if Rutgers pulls off an upset.

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This matchup also presents an opportunity for Rutgers to improve on the road. They are 0-4 away from Jersey Mike’s Arena. To turn their season around, improving on the road and against Big Ten teams will be essential for Rutgers.

Ohio State women’s basketball leader returning for final season

Big news for the Buckeyes #GoBucks

It was a historic run for [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] women’s basketball. The team started the season 19-0, then made it to the Big Ten Tournament championship game, before defeating UConn for the first time in program history en route to a berth in the Elite Eight of the [autotag]NCAA Tournament[/autotag].

The season didn’t end with an opportunity for a championship at the Final Four, but there is some silver lining to the Buckeyes not making it to the last weekend of the season, unfinished business.

That’s exactly what guard [autotag]Jacy Sheldon[/autotag] said as she announced her return for another year wearing the scarlet and gray. The senior will take advantage of the extra COVID-19 season in hopes to make a deeper run in the NCAA Tournament next season.

Statistically, Sheldon wasn’t as productive as her sophomore and junior years mainly because of nursing an injury, but she would most likely trade inflated numbers for a chance at a championship.

Although leading scorer [autotag]Taylor Mikesell[/autotag] will move on, the Buckeyes return four of the top five scorers from last year’s team and another season of valuable experience.

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Buckeyes on the Bubble: Women’s Basketball looks safe after dominating Purdue

The Ohio State Women’s Basketball team dominated Purdue on the road, and now look pretty safe for the NCAA Tournament.

Though not quite a lock, but it looks like the Ohio State Women’s Basketball will reach the NCAA Tournament this season. The Buckeyes have had an up-and-down year, including a win over a Top 5 Louisville team but losses to Ohio and South Dakota. Still, finishing the regular season on a 7-3 stretch seems to be enough to get the Buckeyes playing in March Madness.

Are the Buckeyes a tournament lock yet? Not quite, and for two reasons. First of all, Ohio State’s first opponent in the Big Ten Tournament will be a potential bad loss. Second, and more importantly, it’s a little hard to know exactly what the committee will do with a team like Ohio State–good resume numbers, a few good wins but a poor winning percentage against top-level teams, and some bad losses weighing it down. That’s why different Bracketology outlets have the Buckeyes in different places. For example, ESPN has had the Buckeyes smack on the bubble all season, including as a No. 9 seed at last update. Meanwhile, RealTime RPI has Ohio State at a No. 6 seed, safely in the bracket.

I have, unfortunately, not had the time to look through all the resumes and set up an S-curve to look at the women’s bracket. And while eyeballing the bubble leans me towards saying the Buckeyes are safer than not, I understand the potential differences and where the disparity comes from.

Ohio State did an excellent job this weekend avoiding another resume-hurting loss, as the Buckeyes dominated Purdue on the road. Purdue led 4-2 early, but never held the lead again. Dorka Juhasz went off for yet another double-double for the Buckeyes, while Jacy Sheldon, Kierstan Bell, and Aaliyah Patty each scored in double figures as well.

The Buckeyes concluded their regular season with an 18-11 record. They have locked up either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, which means they will play the winner of either the 11 vs 14 or 12 vs 13 game in the second round on Thursday. That means facing either Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, or Penn State. Any of those four opponents would be a potential bad loss for the Buckeyes. Ohio State went a combined 6-0 against those teams in the regular season, and one more win against any of them would essentially lock up an NCAA Tournament bid for the Scarlet and Gray.

Buckeyes on the Bubble: Women’s Basketball earns resume-boosting win over Indiana

The Ohio State Women’s Basketball team made its NCAA tournament dreams a lot safer with a huge road win at Indiana.

We’ve been following Ohio State Women’s Basketball’s bubble status for a while now, mostly because it’s been so volatile.

The Buckeyes started the season with a mix of bad losses and good wins, including an upset of then-No. 2 Louisville. They continued in this manner all year–winning enough to stay in the bracket, but losing some head-scratchers.

When we last checked on Ohio State’s bubble status, we assumed that the Buckeyes needed to go 4-2 in its final six games to feel safe, and 3-3 at the very least.

Well, two games later, and Ohio State is definitely on the right side of the bubble. Not only did the Buckeyes drop 99 points in a win over Minnesota on Thursday, but they went to Bloomington and upset No. 20 Indiana on the road on Sunday.

The Buckeyes, led by Madison Greene’s 22 points, came back from a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit to pull off the upset. Ohio State exploded for 31 points in the final 7:45 of the fourth quarter, including 14 by Greene. The Buckeyes took the lead with a 25-8 run and never relinquished it. Jacy Sheldon, Dorka Juhasz, and Janai Crooms also scored double digits for the Buckeyes.

The Buckeyes have now won five straight and are up to No. 22 in the RPI (women’s basketball doesn’t use the NET rankings). Ohio State also has two Top 20 RPI wins, with good SOS numbers. It’s a little early to call Ohio State safe for the bracket–the Buckeyes should still avoid losses to Nebraska and maybe Purdue, but the path to the bracket just got much easier. A win over Rutgers or Northwestern would all but cement it.