COLUMBUS, Ohio – February 28th, 2024
The No. 2/2 Ohio State Buckeyes (25-3, 16-1 B1G) defeated Michigan (17-12, 8-9 B1G) by a 67-51 margin on Wednesday in OSU's final home game of the regular season to capture the Big Ten regular season championship outright.
Ohio State scored the first two baskets of the game and led 13-9 after 10 minutes. Michigan battled back to take its first lead of the game during the second quarter and the teams were tied at 22 heading into the locker room. The 27-16 third-quarter advantage gave the Buckeyes a 49-38 lead going into the final quarter. Ohio State closed the game with a 67-51 advantage after the 18-13 advantage in the fourth quarter.
Jacy Sheldon was the first in the game to double figures and finished with a game-high 22 points, including making 4-of-6 from long range. Cotie McMahon (18) and Celeste Taylor (12) also scored in double figures. The Ohio State defense forced 29 turnovers and tallied 19 steals in the game.
How it Happened
Ohio State opened scoring with back-to-back baskets before the teams alternated scoring up to the media timeout with the Buckeyes leading 11-7. The defenses picked it up with each team making one basket out of the media timeout. The Buckeyes led 13-9 after 10 minutes.
The Buckeyes began the second quarter with the first two baskets as well, building the lead to 18-9 with just under seven minutes to play before halftime. OSU led by a 20-14 margin midway through the quarter. The Wolverines used an 8-0 run to tie the game at 20 with 3:22 remaining in the quarter and took their first lead at 22-20 with less than a minute to go in the half. The teams were tied at 22 at halftime.
Ohio State scored the first six points of the third quarter and kept Michigan scoreless for more than 3:30 as the Buckeyes led 28-22. A pair of Sheldon triples gave the Buckeyes a 34-27 lead midway through the third quarter. OSU extended its run to 10-0 and its lead to 41-27 with 3:32 remaining in the third. The teams traded scoring with the Buckeyes holding onto a 49-38 lead after 30 minutes.
The Buckeyes scored six of the fourth quarter's first eight points to extend their lead to 55-40 with just under eight minutes remaining to force a Michigan timeout. Ohio State increased the lead to 58-41 with 5:50 to play. The Buckeyes used a 9-0 run on its way to a 67-51 victory.
