The Buckeyes and Spartans battle for a Big Ten double-bye
It’s not often that two teams in the same conference play such a similar style of basketball, especially when both teams are near the top of that conference. On Thursday, when the No. 23 Michigan State Spartans travel to Columbus for a matchup against No. 12 Ohio State women’s basketball, two teams that thrive off forcing turnovers meet with a lot on the line.
For the Buckeyes, a win secures a top-four spot in the Big Ten Tournament, skipping the first two rounds to join in the quarterfinal. For the Spartans, Michigan State needs to win to stay part of that double-bye conversation.
The matchup promises to be fast, featuring two transfers playing against each other for the first time in years and the return of a former Buckeye who swapped scarlet and gray for green and white in the offseason.
Preview
Ohio State is on a six-game unbeaten streak against the Spartans. This streak spans two Michigan State coaches, a whole roster turnover in East Lansing, and the availability of only one Buckeye when it began.
This year, things are a little different. For one, the Buckeyes themselves are practically a new team with three new starters. While Ohio State still plays the same pressing defensive style as years past, there are new personnel at the helm and when it comes to forcing turnovers this edition is actually statistically better.
The current campaign of Buckeyes defenders averages 1.5 more steals per game than last season with staunch defenders like guards Jacy Sheldon and Celeste Taylor in the backcourt. Freshman Jaloni Cambridge and senior Taylor Thierry are a big reason why. Cambridge’s speed and Thierry’s overall athleticism and defensive timing make both of them tough to beat. Thierry held USC Trojan star guard JuJu Watkins to 10 points before Thierry fouled out in the fourth quarter. Watkins scored seven in the final minutes without Thierry on the court.
For the Spartans, they’re suddenly right behind Ohio State in effectively pressing opponents. Like the Buckeyes, Michigan State now plays a chaotic full-court press, sitting right behind the conference-leading Buckeyes 11.7 steals per conference game with 11.4. Leading head coach Robyn Fralick’s defensive set is regular starting guard Jocelyn Tate. The defender averages 2.4 steals per game, right behind Thierry who leads the Big Ten with 2.5 steals per game.
When Michigan State starters go to the bench, it doesn’t get much easier. Nyla Hampton, who averages 23 minutes per game coming in as a substitute, grabs 2.0 steals per game. The two make the most of their opportunities to force mistakes from their opponents.
Offensively, the Spartans inside game is tenacious, led by guard Julia Ayrault and forward Grace Vanslooten. Ayrault is called a guard but plays a lot like Thierry. She’s another tall, athletic, shooter who can hurt a team both inside and outside. In three previous games against the Buckeyes, Ayrault averages 8.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.
In the case of Vanslooten, the former Oregon Duck joined Sparty in the offseason, coming to the Big Ten with Ohio State shooting guard Chance Gray.
“I’m just excited to face off against her again and see what it’s like being on opposite sides of each other this time,” said Gray following Ohio State’s win over Purdue on Sunday.
Gray, Vanslooten, and Ohio State forward Cotie McMahon played together in AAU basketball, but the first two left the Buckeye State for the Pacific Northwest. Vanslooten is a 6-foot-3 forward from Toledo who leads the Spartans with 15.5 points per game. The forward also averages 6.8 rebounds per game, but unlike most forwards, it’s a pretty even split between offensive and defensive rebounds. Vanslooten is strong on the boards using athleticism, not only height.
Combine Vanslooten and Ayrault together and they’re a one-two punch unlike many teams in the Big Ten who rely maybe on one strong interior presence and the rest of the four playing to or through them.
Ohio State fans might remember Vanslooten from when she played with Te-Hina Paopao on the Ducks. Despite the Buckeyes 84-67 runaway victory at the 2022 San Diego Invitational, Vanslooten scored 29 points with nine rebounds as a freshman. That was also with an interior defense that’s improved with forward Ajae Petty and freshman Elsa Lemmilä patrolling the paint.
Grace working HARD for the bucket! #GoGreen pic.twitter.com/RAwRgT7N73
— Michigan State Women’s Basketball (@MSU_WBasketball) February 9, 2025
A silver lining for the Buckeyes in the defensive matchup is their experience with the press. When teams hurry up their pace against Ohio State, it forces mistakes. The Scarlet and Gray feed off mistakes but will have to make the most of the fast break opportunities.
Another characteristic Michigan State possesses is that the Spartans are never out of a game. They play like the Buckeyes of two years ago who didn’t see a double-digit deficit they couldn’t eliminate.
Against the UCLA Bruins, Michigan State was down by nearly double digits at halftime, but the second-half Spartans stormed out to a 22-12 third quarter and had a lead in the fourth quarter. If not for guard Kiki Rice taking over the fourth quarter, and a suspicious technical called on the Spartans coaching staff late in the game, it could have been an upset of the No 1 Bruins in Los Angeles.
Erasing deficits is a skill the Spartans have shown multiple times this season, and it’s something that might keep head coach Kevin McGuff up at night. The Buckeyes lost two consecutive double-digit leads to the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Iowa Hawkeyes, both requiring overtime to reset Ohio State.
That kind of play can’t happen if the Buckeyes hope to lock up a top-four spot in the Big Ten Tournament.
Something aiding Ohio State though is a return to form for Gray and Petty. After both suffered a month-long cold spell in almost every aspect of the game, the two upperclassmen led the Buckeye blowout of the Purdue Boilermakers. Gray led the team with 21 points, hitting five shots from beyond the arc. It’s the first time the shooting guard hit multiple threes in a game since Jan. 19. In the eight games that followed, Gray hit three three-point shots total.
For Petty, the transfer graduate senior forward had her first double-double, or game with double-digit points or rebounds, since Jan. 12. Now does this mean that both of them are back to playing closer to their potential? One game doesn’t necessarily make a comeback, and Wednesday will be a bigger test than the Boilermakers who sit in 16th place in the Big Ten.
If the play of the duo stumbles, coach McGuff showed over the last few weeks that he’s fine bringing in Lemmilä or guard Kennedy Cambridge in for extended minutes. While neither is a consistent offensive threat, they both bring defense that could calm down a game against a Spartan team that will be fast-paced.
Projected Starters
Ohio State
G- Jaloni Cambridge
G- Chance Gray
G- Taylor Thierry
F- Cotie McMahon
F- Ajae Petty
Lineup Notes
- Petty’s double-double Sunday afternoon gave the senior 900 career points and 700 career rebounds
- Cambridge earned both Big Ten and USBWA Freshman of the Week honors last week after averaging 22.3 points, 3.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 3.0 steals in three games
- Lemmilä’s 52 blocks this season is more than Ohio State’s previous European forward Rebeka Mikulášiková had in five seasons with the Buckeyes (37), showing the difference in playing styles of the two bigs
Michigan State
G- Jaddan Simmons
G- Theryn Hallock
G- Jocelyn Tate
G- Julia Ayrault
F- Grace Vanslooten
Lineup Notes
- The Spartans have three players who average double-figure scoring: Vanslooten (15.5), Ayrault (14.9), and Hallock (13.8)
- After starting the first seven games of the season, former Buckeye guard Emma Shumate averages 4.8 points and 16.5 minutes per game
- Since going to the bench for eight games. Vanslooten averages 19.8 points per game in the last six games, all starts
Prediction
Wednesday night’s game is going to be close. Michigan State will start as the aggressors, requiring the Buckeyes to play from behind in the first half. After halftime, Ohio State will ramp up their defensive intensity and come away with a close victory, despite Vanslooten getting a double-double against the Buckeyes.
How to Watch
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio
Stream: B1G+
LGHL Score Prediction: 78-73, Ohio State Buckeyes
B1G+ Strikes Back
There’s good and bad news. Let’s start with the bad news — the game is behind the B1G+ paywall. The good news? It’s the last time Ohio State plays on the streaming service this season.
The problem Wednesday isn’t completely a men vs. women’s sports issue. Now, there have been times that a ranked Ohio State game was paywalled behind an unranked men’s game but at least this time the Big Ten Network has on a ranked vs. ranked matchup between the Maryland Terrapins and Michigan State men’s teams.
A larger issue with B1G+, and not talking about its unreliable tech issues, is that there’s little flexibility when games like Wednesday’s between the Buckeyes and Spartans happen. A game that will determine tournament seeding, and featuring two ranked programs, whatever is decided at the start of the season sticks.
Since only complaining about problems without any kind of solution is annoying, here’s an idea. Fox needs to emulate the ESPN app. For less than B1G+, ESPN subscribers get ACC and SEC games, plus all of the soccer, hockey, and ESPN 8: The Ocho sporting events imaginable.
Hopefully, in the offseason, this becomes a reality, but until then either get to the Schottenstein Center, drive onto campus to use wifi (therefore getting B1G+ for free), or shell out the dough. If none of those options work, read Land-Grant Holy Land for all the best Ohio State women’s basketball coverage for no dollars at all.