MINNEAPOLIS (WCMH) — The 2023 Big Ten women’s basketball tournament bracket is finalized and the Ohio State Buckeyes will have a difficult path toward a conference title.
With a regular season record of 23-6 and a conference record of 12-6, the Buckeyes will be the No. 4 seed in next week’s tournament that will be played at the Target Center in Minneapolis. As the four-seed, Ohio State has a double-bye and is automatically in the quarterfinals.
The next game for OSU will be Friday afternoon in the quarterfinals when they face one of Michigan, Minnesota or Penn State. Against those three teams, the Buckeyes are 5-0.
Of the Buckeyes’ six losses thus far, five have come against the three teams that occupy the top three spots in the conference tournament (No. 1 Indiana, No. 2 Iowa, and No. 3 Maryland). If Ohio State wins its quarterfinal match on Friday, they are more than likely set to face Indiana.
Ohio State has not won a Big Ten conference tournament since 2018 but has made the final as recently as 2020. The Big Ten tournament final is scheduled for March 5 at 5 p.m.
The Buckeyes will then have the following week off as they wait to discover its seed and placement in the NCAA tournament. Should Ohio State earn a top-four seed in March Madness, they will host its four-team section of the bracket for the first two rounds at Value City Arena. Selection Sunday is scheduled for March 12.
2023 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament Schedule
March 1: First Round
Game 1: 2 p.m. – No. 13 Penn State vs. No. 12 Minnesota
Game 2: 4:30 p.m. – No. 14 Northwestern vs. No. 11 Rutgers
March 2: Second Round
Game 3: 12:30 p.m. – No. 9 Michigan State vs. No. 8 Nebraska
Game 4: 25 minutes after Game 3 – Game 1 Winner vs. No. 5 Michigan
Game 5: 6:30 p.m. – No. 10 Wisconsin vs. No. 7 Purdue
Game 6: 25 minutes after Game 5 – Game 2 Winner vs. No. 6 Illinois
March 3: Quarterfinals
Game 7: 12:30 p.m. – Game 3 Winner vs. No. 1 Indiana
Game 8: 25 minutes after Game 7 – Game 4 Winner vs. No. 4 Ohio State
Game 9: 6:30 p.m. – Game 5 Winner vs. No. 2 Iowa
Game 10: 25 minutes after Game 9 – Game 6 Winner vs. No. 3 Maryland
March 4: Semifinals
Game 11: 2:30 p.m. – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner
Game 12: 5 p.m. – Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner
