COLUMBUS – The sixth-seed Ohio State women’s basketball team faces No. 2 seed Texas in a regional semifinal Friday night, one of four Big Ten teams to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
#6 OHIO STATE (25-6) vs. #2 Texas (28-6); Spokane, Wash. (7:00 p.m./ ESPN2)
It’s been nearly 30 years since Ohio State last advanced past the Sweet 16 in the women’s NCAA Tournament.
This is Ohio State’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2017 and 12th overall but the Buckeyes have lost the last five times they’ve reached the regional semifinal round.
The last time they advanced beyond the Sweet 16 was 1993 when they reached the national title game.
The Buckeyes earned the trip with a wire-to-wire 79-64 team win over No. 3 seed LSU on Monday in Baton Rouge.
Texas enters reached the regional semifinals with wins over Fairfield and Utah in the first two rounds of the tournament in Austin after winning the Big 12 Tournament.
It has been seven years since the Big Ten had a team reach the Final Four and more than two decades since the conference had a national champion in women’s basketball.
With four teams in the Sweet 16 for a second consecutive year, the conference is taking its place in the spotlight at a time when there is a concerted effort to raise the profile of women’s hoops and the coaches of the four teams want to do their part.
“A lot of the other leagues out there have TV networks that trumpet their teams. We have to similarly as coaches promoting how good we are. We know how good we are. Everyone knows it as well,” Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said.
Michigan, Indiana and Maryland are also playing in the regional semifinals this weekend. That matches the ACC for most teams left in the NCAA Tournament.