Minneapolis, Minnesota – After completing the Big Ten Co-Championship season and the NCAA Sweet Sixteen Bath last season, Ohio’s women’s basketball program was honored at the Big Ten Media Days here at the Target Center.
OSU coach Kevin McGuff and senior guards Taylor Mikesell and Jaycee Sheldon represented the Buckeyes at Wednesday’s women’s side media day.
The Buckeyes went 25-7 last season, tying Iowa 14-4 in conference play to clinch the Big Ten title. They entered the NCAA Tournament as his 6th seed, and the 3rd seed he knocked off LSU to advance to the Sweet Sixteen Round for the first time since 2017. in the regional semifinals in Spokane, Washington.
McGuff will have four starters from its 2021-22 team. That includes his tandem of high-scoring guards Mike Sell (18.6 points averaged last year) and Sheldon (19.7 points). In all but three of his games last season, one or both of them led his OSU in scoring. They also have guard Ricky Harris and forward Rebecca Mikrasikova at the back.
The OSU lineup should be bolstered by the return of point guard Madison Green, who missed last season with a knee injury.
In a preseason poll selected by a panel of coaches and media members, Iowa was named as the preseason favorite, and star guard Kaitlin Clark was also named as preseason player of the year. Ohio State voted him second in coaches’ preseason polls, and Indiana State voted him third in its polls. A media poll reversed the order, with Indiana coming in second for him, followed by Ohio.
The schools voted for by Big Ten preseason coaches and media voters also feature in the 2022-23 Way Too Early rankings published by espnW and The Athletic. According to espnW’s latest rankings on June 14th, Iowa was No. 6, Indiana No. 12, Ohio No. 15, Maryland No. 18 and Nebraska No. 22. .
Ohio State checked in 13th in the preseason coaches poll. South Carolina was number one and UConn was his second. Michigan was 7th, Maryland 9th, Indiana 10th, and Iowa 14th.
“The Big Ten Conference will once again be one of the best conferences in the country for women’s basketball,” McGuff said. “We are as competitive as ever with the number and coaching of great players returning. I think it will be the most exciting year in history.
“[Last season]we had a really tough start to the season with Madison[Green]out. I think what’s giving is that we have some kids with similar high personalities. There are far fewer things to scatter.”
The Buckeyes will host Notre Dame College for an exhibition on October 31 and will continue the regular season at home against No. 15 Tennessee in a game broadcast on BTN on November 8 at 8:30 p.m. start. See the full schedule for 2022-23 here. click Click here for ticket information in the coming season.
Below are McGuff’s comments from the media era, Mikesell and Sheldon’s comments, video interview segments, and coaches’ and players’ comments.
