:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25892574/2201732970.jpg)
For the past two seasons, the start of the NCAA Tournament went through Columbus, Ohio. Unlike the men’s tournament, the women’s edition features the top-16 teams in the 68-team field hosting the first two rounds of the tournament. From there, the four brackets more to two regional locations. This season, the Buckeyes hosting isn’t a sure bet like last season when the Scarlet and Gray entered a No. 2 seed.
This year, Ohio State sits at No. 16 in the top-16 released by the NCAA Tournament committee. Fall one more spot and the Buckeyes have to pack up and get on the road to one of the 16 locations.
The Buckeyes don’t only avoid lengthy travel to possibly as far west as California and as far south as Austin, Texas, but get to play at home where Ohio State is 15-0 this season.
Here’s what the Scarlet and Gray have to do in order to make sure it happens.
Win
Simple enough, but it is the only area where the Buckeyes are in complete control. It begins Sunday when Ohio State travels to College Park, Maryland to face the No. 18Â Maryland Terrapins.
On Jan. 23, the Buckeyes defeated the Terrapins in Columbus, 74-66. In that game, both Maryland guards Shyanne Sellers and Bri McDaniel missed due to injury. For McDaniel, it was an ACL tear earlier in January that rules the Terrapin’s sixth player out until likely halfway through the 25-26 season. Sellers missed due to a knee injury sustained against the Texas Longhorns three days prior.
Going to Maryland is a quad one game, meaning the toughest level of competition according to the NCAA’s NET rankings. The quad system, combined with NET rankings, helps the tournament committee work on more than AP voters or the eye test. Right now, the Buckeyes are 3-3 in quad one games. A win against the Terps is one step in the right direction.
The higher quality result, the more it weighs in the NET rankings. Now, it’s not the only metric the committee will look at, but it’s an important one nonetheless. Playing away from home, against a team ranked No. 26 in the NET rankings, through Thursday’s games, will only help Ohio State’s cause.
After that, the Scarlet and Gray need to get a win or two in the Big Ten Tournament. Ohio State can’t afford a repeat of last year’s lopsided tournament defeat to the Terps if it hopes to hold on to a starting spot. There’s also a strong chance that game is a quad one contest, with Ohio State the No. 3 seed in the tournament (not officially until the end of Sunday’s games). That lines up with potential games against Illinois, Indiana or Michigan, amongst others.
