Ohio State enters final week of regular season ranked No. 16

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Ohio State women’s basketball team has two games left before postseason play and enter this week with its lowest-ranking this season.

The Buckeyes (22-5, 11-5) have been ranked No. 16 in the new Associated Press poll following a 24-point loss on Monday to No. 2 Indiana and a bounce back win over Penn State on Thursday. This three-place drop from last week puts OSU at its lowest ranking in 2022-23.

OSU will continue this tough stretch at the end of the season with a Monday meeting against No. 12 Michigan in Ann Arbor at 7 p.m. It’s regular season finale will be at home on Friday night versus No. 7 Maryland, who OSU fell too on the road on Feb. 5. Four of the Buckeyes’ five losses are against Big Ten teams ranked in the top-ten.

The Buckeyes currently sit in fourth place in the Big Ten standings and will increase its chances of clinching a berth in next week’s Big Ten tournament quarterfinals with a victory over Michigan on Monday. The Big Ten tournament tips-off on Mar. 1 with the quarterfinal round commencing on Mar. 3 from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

OSU cannot claim a top-two seed but can drop to as low as sixth place. The final bracket for the Big Ten tournament will be decided after five Sunday afternoon games.

AP Poll (Feb. 20, 2023)

BIG TEN BRACKET IF SEASON ENDED TODAY