The Ohio State women’s basketball team took on Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They did so at home in the Schott in front of their own fans. Yet, they choked away a lead for the third time in the last four games. The Buckeyes fell to the Blue Devils 75-63 in a game that got out of hand in the fourth quarter.
Ohio State’s ineffectiveness from both the three-point line and the free-throw line was why they didn’t win the game. The Buckeyes were just 1-11 from beyond the arc and a terrible 18-27 from the charity stripe. Ohio State has never been good from the free-throw line, but this was a particularly bad showing for them.
The Ohio State women’s basketball team played their worst basketball at the end of the season
It’s always a team’s goal to play their best at the end of the season. Instead, Ohio State played its worst. They lost three of their final four games, including a blowout loss to Maryland in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes played really great basketball early in the year, but it was too early for them to do it.
I think the blame for how this season ends falls on the shoulders of Kevin McGuff. He has to have his team ready to play against teams who are less talented than them. Duke finished 7th in the ACC. There’s no way they should be beating the Buckeyes by double-digits at the Schott.
Unfortunately, this team was built to win this season. Next season won’t be as easy for them to win a Big Ten title. They won the regular season championship, and that was great. Yet, this team had higher aspirations. They now go into the offseason losing a ton of their best players.
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