DaytonDailyNews.com

COLUMBUS — Finding out who and when they'll play in the NCAA tournament didn't matter as much to the Ohio State Buckeyes as where.

Because the No. 25 Buckeyes were sent to Big Ten country, they know it will be easier for their rabid followers to make the 568-mile trip.

"We wanted our fans to be able to come to the game," star freshman center Jantel Lavender said on Monday, March 17, after the Buckeyes drew Florida State (18-13) on Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa, among the closest of the first- and second-round sites. "That's really good for us. We think we have the best fans."

A record-tying four Ohio schools — also including Cleveland State, Xavier and Miami — made it into the big dance on Monday when the tournament field was announced.

Horizon League champion Cleveland State (19-13) was seeded 15th and takes on second-seeded Stanford (30-3) Saturday at Stanford. The Cardinal likely will be in a bad mood, since they were expecting to be a top seed at their own host site.

Atlantic 10 tournament winner Xavier (24-8) drew a No. 9 seed and will meet eighth-seeded Nebraska (20-11) Sunday at College Park, Md.

"It's great to make it on my first go-around," Musketeers freshman center Ta'Shia Phillips said. "I think it would be a missed opportunity to not take advantage of every year here at Xavier. We are a young team but we are ready to play in the NCAAs."

Miami (23-10) is making its first NCAA tournament appearance, and will play fourth-seeded Louisville (24-9) on Sunday in Bridgeport, Conn. The RedHawks were given a No. 13 seed by grabbing the Mid-American Conference's automatic berth after winning the conference tournament.

The sixth-seeded Big Ten regular-season champion Buckeyes (22-8) are appearing in the tournament for the sixth year in a row.

Lavender, the Big Ten's freshman and player of the year, had a typical reaction for a rookie.

"I'm so excited. So excited," she said with a wide smile. "To see the bracket show and what seed we got, who we're playing and where, that was a lot of fun. Now we have to get ready to play."

When the Buckeyes make their 17th tourney appearance, junior forward Star Allen will be eligible to play again.

The preseason All-Big Ten selection sat out winter quarter to concentrate on academics.

A second-team All-Big Ten choice last year, Allen started 10 of the first 12 games this season, averaging 8.6 points and 7.1 rebounds.

Allen missed 18 games during the winter quarter as the Buckeyes went 13-5.

The Buckeyes are trying to break out of a postseason funk. They've only made it past the second round once in seven trips since playing for the national championship in 1993. Even the one time they won two games, they were beaten in the next game.

Women's NCAA tournament

No. 1 seeds: UConn, North Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland

Top overall seed: UConn

Defending champion: Tennessee

The Big East and Big 12 have a record-tying eight teams in the field.

Liberty, the No. 12 seed in the Greensboro regional, features the Frazee triplets, who played at Xenia Christian High School. Megan Frazee hit the game-winning shot in Sunday's Big South championship win over Radford.