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OSU women have little to gain in Big Ten tourney
With a good NCAA seed in hand, Buckeyes must beat rivals again
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
COLUMBUS — For the past two months, No. 5 Ohio State has proven itself to be the best women's basketball team in the Big Ten.
Now the Buckeyes get to prove it all over again.
Extras
Heading into this week's conference tournament in Indianapolis, the Buckeyes (26-2, 15-1) risk a lot with very little to gain. If they lose, there likely will be a commensurate drop in the rankings and their NCAA tournament seeding. If they win, well, what's so compelling about beating the same teams you beat all season?
Coach Jim Foster says his team will be judged on the big picture.
"All we can do is present a body of work. We've got three more games, potentially, to present it," Foster said. "We'll see if they (the NCAA selection committee members) think it's a Picasso or a Monet."
In the Big Ten, it's been the Mona Lisa. The Buckeyes whisked to their second consecutive regular-season title and are the top seed heading into the conference tournament. They will meet the winner of Iowa (14-15) and Indiana (17-12) in the quarterfinals Friday night.
The Buckeyes have already beaten Iowa by 6 and 36 points and Indiana by 10.
"After we won the title, the seniors talked about how the regular season is over now and we have to worry about taking care of business in the Big Ten tournament," said freshman point guard Maria Moeller, a Marion Local High grad. "They talked about how it's going to be tough because once again we're the No. 1 seed and people are going to come after us."
And Ohio State has plenty of targets. Center Jessica Davenport became the first to capture the Big Ten player of the year award three times. Foster was selected as the league's top coach and Star Allen, Marscilla Packer and injured Chaminade-Julienne star Brandie Hoskins also were honored on the all-conference team.
After a long, arduous season, a conference tournament is a bother for teams already assured of an NCAA berth. There's no time to celebrate a successful regular season, and it's too soon to think about the NCAAs.
"I view the Big Ten tournament as mental," Foster said. "This is a mental weekend. It always has been."
Women's Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis
First round Thursday
Game 1: Wisconsin vs. Michigan, 3 p.m.
Game 2: Minnesota vs. Northwestern
Game 3: Iowa vs. Indiana
Quarterfinals Friday
Game 4: Purdue vs. Wisconsin/ Michigan winner, noon
Game 5: Michigan State vs. Minnesota/Northwestern winner
Game 6: Ohio State vs. Iowa/Indiana winner, 6 p.m.
Game 7: Illinois vs. Penn State
Semifinals Sunday
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 5 p.m.
Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner
Finals Monday
Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 7 p.m.
