Ohio State women’s basketball starts their March Madness run

If the men’s NCAA Tournament is any indication, the women’s tournament is going to be just as crazy. We saw a 16-seed beat a 1-seed in downtown Columbus last night. The Ohio State women’s basketball team is hoping to avoid an upset of their own here in Columbus.

The third-seeded Buckeyes take on 14-seed James Madison today at 1:30 pm ET at the Schott. The game will be broadcast on ESPN 2. It’s a game that the Buckeyes are expected to win. In fact according to multiple sportsbooks, the Buckeyes are favored by 18 points.

The Ohio State women’s basketball team is led by Taylor Mikesell scoring-wise. She is the most dangerous shooter that the Buckeyes have on the court. She is not afraid to launch from anywhere on the court, and could possibly shoot some logo threes if she has to.

I expect Ohio State to be able to win this game for many reasons. For one, they are at home and are the higher-seeded team. But they just flat-out have more talent than James Madison does. Ohio State will be measured by how deep of a run they can make.

How deep they can go might be predicated on the health and effectiveness of Jacy Sheldon. She’s been in and out of the lineup all year with a leg injury. She’s the Buckeyes’ best defender and is one of the team’s best shooters too. What she’s able to give offensively is going to be the key.

This is one of the best basketball teams that Kevin McGuff has had since he’s been the head coach of this Ohio State women’s program. I’m excited to see what kind of run they can make. It certainly helps that they host their first two games of the tournament as well.