Picking 10 of the Buckeyes’ 29 games that you can’t miss
College basketball season is fast approaching and Land-Grant Holy Land is here to get you ready. Before the season starts this fall, check back regularly for player previews, schedule news, features, and more heading into the 2024-25 Ohio State women’s basketball season.
With another month almost in the books on the 2024 calendar, college basketball creeps closer and closer. Soon, Halloween costumes are traded for comfy spots on the couch to watch a full slate of college basketball that stretches from November to April.
To help prioritize your time, here are the top 10 games you can’t miss in the upcoming Ohio State women’s basketball schedule. Disagree with the order? Did we miss a game against your alma mater? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter.
No. 10: Jan. 8, 2025 at Michigan (B1G+)
While the conference might not be high on this game, foregoing any television audience and opting to put it behind the conference streaming paywall, it deserves to be in the top 10. Not only because its another edition of The Rivalry, but it does help.
When Michigan and Ohio State play, you can tell the teams don’t like each other, more than most Big Ten games. Last season, the Buckeyes lost to the Wolverines in Ann Arbor, a loss that was the catalyst for a 15-game winning streak.
In the final game of that streak, it was the Wolverines who lost on Ohio State’s home court and had to be in the building as the Buckeyes celebrated another Big Ten regular season title.
This year’s edition won’t include arguably Michigan’s best player in Laila Phelia, who transferred to the Texas Longhorns in the offseason. However, the lone game between the two teams this year includes a blockbuster freshman showdown.
For Ohio State, it’s Jaloni Cambridge, the No. 2 prospect in the 2024 class. For Michigan, it’s Syla Swords, the 18-year-old who made the Canadian 2024 Paris Olympic team and the No. 4 overall prospect in the class.
Seeing the two battle in the backcourt for the first time is a sign of things to come in the storied rivalry between the two schools.
No. 9: Jan. 26, 2025 at Nebraska (B1G+)
B1G+ strikes again. This game, like No. 10, should get a lot more respect. This game has it all, from the strong in the paint duos to another young guard battle.
Near the basket for the Cornhuskers are Alexis Markowski and Natalie Potts. While the latter didn’t do too much damage against the Buckeyes last year (six points and two rebounds in an 80-47 clobbering Nebraska), she was voted Freshman of the Year by the coaches for a reason.
Potts averaged 10.2 points and 5.5 rebounds and was top 10 in the conference in grabbing offensive boards. Which helps her senior center/forward teammate, Markowski.
Unlike Potts, Markowski has made the Buckeyes’ life difficult averaging 15.6 points and 13.0 rebounds in three previous games against Ohio State (all losses).
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
People are high on Nebraska this year partly because of that duo. It’s set up to be a great game between the Big Red duo and the Ohio State interior of Ajae Petty, Cotie McMahon, and Taylor Thierry. This game comes at a time when teams should be ramping up to hit their peak entering tournament time. This provides a great test for head coach Kevin McGuff’s side.
Plus another pair of future Big Ten star guards with Cambridge and Nebraska’s Britt Prince. Prince is the No. 25 prospect of the 2024 class and another candidate to fight for a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman team at season’s end.
No. 8: Jan. 23, 2025 vs. Maryland (Big Ten Network)
Revenge is a dish best served cold, and it should be chilly in late January when the Terrapins head to Columbus, at least in the forecast.
The last time these two times met was in the Big Ten Tournament. Ohio State entered as the No. 1 seed, with McGuff not losing a first game of the tournament in any previous season where his team entered as a top-four side. That streak ended, and it ended badly.
Ohio State lost by 21, with Maryland outrebounding the Buckeyes 55-31. It was the first of two losses in the three Scarlet and Gray tournament games, losing two games later in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament against the Duke Blue Devils.
January is the first of two times McGuff and Maryland coach Brenda Frese will face each other this season, with the conference pairing every team up with one side they’ll meet in a home-and-home.
The first edition takes place in Columbus, where the Buckeyes defeated the Terrapins last year. However, Maryland is on a different side this year, bolstering their lineup with former Rutgers freshman standout Kaylene Smikle and Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Sarah Te-Biasu from VCU. Not to mention the return of senior Shyanne Sellers.
Will the Ohio State offense play like the tournament side or the one that beat the Terrapins twice in the 23-24 regular season? Tune in on Big Ten Network in late January to find out.
No. 7: Feb. 17, 2025 vs. Iowa (FOX)
For the second season in a row, Ohio State faces the Iowa Hawkeyes on national television. The big difference is the absence of a certain alliteratively named star guard.
Even so, the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes have been part of a small group of teams sitting near the top of the conference over the last few seasons. Also, the Iowa and Ohio State rivalry dates back decades with both sides investing in women’s basketball earlier than most in the conference.
This time around, Iowa has guard Lucy Olsen. The Villanova transfer steps into the shadow of Caitlin Clark, who had three triple-doubles against the Buckeyes in her career. Now, Olsen won’t be as strong of a triple-double threat but can score in bunches, sitting third in the nation last season with 23.3 points.
What makes the matchup intriguing is Hannah Stuelke. The junior forward thrived under Clark, but will that continue with the Hawkeyes playing under a new head coach and without the linchpin of the offense for the past four seasons?
The fact that this game is on FOX is kind of surprising, but after last year’s overtime thriller in Columbus, it’s a matchup worth taking a gamble.
No. 6: Feb. 20, 2025 at Indiana (Peacock)
This game is higher than the national game against Iowa for a couple of reasons. First, Indiana is going to be a good team. Despite losing program-shifting forward Mackenzie Holmes, head coach Teri Moren brings back an experienced side, led by Sydney Parrish and Chloe Moore-McNeil.
In Holmes’ vacated spot are a few options for Moren. Third-year Hoosier Lilly Meister played behind Holmes throughout her career, but Tennessee transfer Karoline Striplin has more experience starting and Faith Wiseman enters as a high-ranked forward recruit out of Marysville, Indiana.
Even so, there’s enough experience on this team to give Ohio State troubles, something the Buckeyes have had against Indiana in recent history.
Before the 2023 Big Ten Tournament, the Buckeyes lost five straight against the Hoosiers. Ohio State is now on a two-game winning streak after that 2023 conference tournament win featuring a historic second-half comeback, but Assembly Hall is the second reason this game stands out.
Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK
By the time these two sides play in February, it’ll be four years since Ohio State won a game in Assembly Hall. With seats basically on top of the action, it’s a formidable gym to play in, with a group of fans who live and breathe basketball yelling at every perceived slight against their crimson-clad basketball team.
The challenge of winning in a rowdy Assembly Hall could mean good things for Ohio State as it heads into the final weeks of the season.
No. 5: Dec. 20, 2024 at Stanford (FS1) – Neutral site game
Putting the game against Stanford at five feels like a bit of a reach. After all, the Cardinals weren’t thought too highly overall entering this year with Associated Press voters leaving them out of the preseason top 25.
After all, Stanford lost their two best players Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen to the WNBA and USC Trojans respectively. It also lost legendary head coach, and former Ohio State coach, Tara Vanderveer.
There are reasons why Stanford is so high on this list. Part of it is the name. Regardless of ranking, Stanford is a women’s basketball school and even if they’re starting down there’s a strong chance it doesn’t last for long.
The loss of Vanderveer is tough, but Kate Paye slides into the role similarly to the changing of the guard in Iowa with the loss of Lisa Bluder. Paye isn’t new to Stanford by any means. The former pro and Stanford grad not only played for Vanderveer for four seasons but has been on the staff since 2007.
On the staff is another 23-24 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, this time on the media side. Former Purdue Boilermaker forward Mary Ashley Stevenson, who played once against the Buckeyes with 12 points and seven rebounds, is the one familiar face on the court between the two sides.
Even so, Stanford is likely to be ranked by the time the teams meet in San Francisco at the Bay Area Women’s Classic. That is unless AP voters were right and Stanford is in for a rebuild.
No. 4: Feb. 5, 2025 at UCLA (Peacock)
Ohio State was one of the few conference teams who scheduled the Bruins last year, in expansion preparation. The Bruins marched into the Schottenstein Center and walked away with a 77-71 win over the Buckeyes, with a scoreline that is deceptive.
The Scarlet and Gray were down 22 points with 8:49 remaining in the fourth quarter and made it a game. A patented McGuff comeback, this time without getting across the finish line. A game that could’ve gone another way if it was five quarters, but that’s not how basketball works.
Center Lauren Betts had a double-double in the win, with 11 rebounds as no Buckeye could handle the 6-foot-7 star.
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
This season, Ohio State boasts an improved post-game, with Petty and 6-foot-6 freshman center Elsa Lemmilä. Will that make the game within reach? Will travel be an issue? How will the young Buckeyes backcourt do against Preseason All-B1G guard Kiki Rice?
By the time February rolls around, the identity of the Buckeyes should be known, for better or worse. The more the identity is established, and the team is clicking, the higher chance Ohio State has to beat their new conference foes. Then, three days later, it doesn’t get any easier.
No. 3: Feb. 8 at USC (FOX)
Like the loss against UCLA last campaign, the Buckeyes tried to get an edge in scouting and played the Trojans to start the season. In the first game of the year, JuJu Watkins introduced herself to the nation with a 32-point performance in an 83-74 victory.
It’s tough to be the first team to face a phenom like Watkins, with the Buckeyes relying on AAU scouting to try and get an edge, but as the season went on nobody had much better luck against who could be a three-time B1G Player of the Year when it’s all said and done.
Ohio State gets another shot this year, in Los Angeles on the Trojans’ home court. It’s not much easier than last year, with Stanford standout Iriafen joining Watkins at USC in the transfer portal.
It might be a tall task for coach McGuff’s side, but this Saturday night matchup in California is the first time the Buckeyes can show what they’ve learned about Watkins and the Trojans. It’s also a good test for how Ohio State could do in the NCAA Tournament, with USC already predicted as a top-four seed in the nation.
No. 2: March 2, 2025 at Maryland (FOX)
Credit to the Big Ten schedule makers for their last regular season games of the season. UCLA faces USC on FOX, on March 1. The next night, the Buckeyes and Terrapins are the main event with 14 league teams facing off.
Where will Ohio State be at this point in the season? If things go well, this game deserves a top ranking on this list.
Two seasons ago, these two teams faced off to end the year and Ohio State almost forced overtime if not for a McMahon layup that was a fraction of a second too late to count. When both of these teams are good, they play exciting basketball games.
Will the Buckeyes be playing for a top-four spot in the tournament, maybe challenging for a conference title or will this game be meaningless? Odds are it’ll be a game where two teams are playing for momentum heading into the Big Ten tournament a week later.
No. 1: Dec. 8, 2024 vs. Illinois (BTN)
It might seem crazy to see Illinois at No. 1 on this list. With games against the Watkins, Betts, and Stuelkes of the world, the first conference game of the season doesn’t seem like it carries much weight, but this game carries a ton.
There’s no argument that the Buckeyes’ non-conference schedule isn’t full of the best of college basketball. While there are strong mid-major sides on the calendar, like Ball State and Cleveland State, the only way they’re losing is if things go wrong for Ohio State.
This game against Illinois will start to build the story of the Buckeyes’ season.
Illinois fields a strong, experienced, team. Although they had a tough conference season, going 8-10, the Illini bounced back to show their class in the postseason. Illinois ended the season with a five-game winning streak, winning the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament.
They also return three fifth-year stars in forward Kendall Bostic and guards Genesis Bryant and Makira Cook; all players who have given Ohio State issues in the past two seasons, despite the Buckeyes always coming out on top against head coach Shauna Green’s side.
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If Ohio State wins the game, it starts to prove to folks that losing players like Jacy Sheldon and Celeste Taylor isn’t debilitating. Lose it, and it could show the Buckeyes what it has to do as games are more difficult from December through the end of March.
Now, it’s early enough in the season that it won’t end any conference chances, but it’ll show if McGuff’s retooled his side to stay contenders.