Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
With college football and NFL having wrapped up their seasons, now is a bit of an odd time of year for sports fans. The NBA will be coming back from their All-Star break later this week, while the NHL is on pause until this weekend while the 4 Nations Tournament is taking place. The good news for baseball fans is pitchers and catchers have reported to spring training, meaning it will be opening day before you know it. Then not long after baseball kicks off their regular season, we’ll get the visual masterpiece that is The Masters at Augusta while hushed tones from Jim Nantz usher in a tradition unlike any other, which is an incredible golf nap in mid-April.
Even though we don’t have football to focus on right now, there are plenty of exciting stories shaping up in the Ohio State athletic department when it comes to the teams currently playing winter sports. Both hockey teams are in prime position to make the NCAA Tournament, the women’s basketball team is one of the top teams in the country, and the men’s team has a decent shot at returning to this year’s “big dance” — although both hoops teams took some lumps this week. Don’t sleep on the wrestling team either, since they are currently ranked in the Top 10.
Today we want to know which storyline from an Ohio State winter sports team you are most excited about. Whether you are a huge hockey fan or prefer to watch the basketball Buckeyes, there is no wrong answer. In the end, we are all rooting for Ohio State and hopefully,y we can watch the best damn teams in the land add some hardware to the school’s trophy case after the football team won the national championship last month.
Today’s question: Which Ohio State winter sports team storyline is most interesting?
We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.
Brett’s answer: Will Ohio State women’s hockey make it back-to-back national titles
While the Columbus Blue Jackets will make headlines in Columbus over the next few weeks as they prepare to play an NHL Stadium Series game at Ohio Stadium on March 1, the Ohio State women’s hockey team is the straw that stirs the drink when it comes to hockey in Columbus. The Buckeyes have not only been to the last three NCAA title games but have also won two championships during that span, with the only loss coming in the 2023 championship game.
Head coach Nadine Muzerall again has the Ohio State women’s hockey team in prime position to win another title. The Buckeyes enter their final regular season series this weekend with a 23-6-3 record, putting them second in the rankings, with only rival Wisconsin sitting ahead of them. The Badgers and Buckeyes have had some great battles over the last few years, not only meeting in the last two championship games with each team winning one title, but they played in an outdoor game at Wrigley Field in January, which saw Ohio State win in a shootout.
The Buckeyes have all the tools needed to lift the trophy again this year. Jocelyn Amos leads Ohio State with 21 goals this year, while four other Buckeyes have scored at least 10 goals so far this season. The defense is tough to crack, allowing 705 fewer shots than the Ohio State offense has taken. Between the pipes is a strong combo. Amanda Thiele is a seasoned veteran, and Minnesota-Duluth transfer Hailey MacLeod has given up less than two goals per game in her first season in Columbus.
Now is the perfect time to jump back into following Ohio State’s women’s hockey team if you are looking for entertainment over the next month. The Buckeyes close out their regular season schedule on Friday and Saturday at home against St. Cloud State before conference tournament play and the NCAA Tournament get going next month. Out of all the winter Ohio State sports teams, the women’s hockey squad feels like it has the best chance to add to the school’s national championship tally.
Matt’s answer:
I’m going to go a little outside the box here. In terms of drawing in the casual sports fan, yes, the men’s and women’s basketball teams are more broadly interesting, but I think as a fandom, we have slept on the Ohio State men’s gymnastics team for far too long. While the Buckeyes haven’t won a national title since 2001, in the 21st Century, they have finished in the top-five nine times, and between No. 6 and No. 10 six more times, including last year’s sixth-place finish.
Head coach Rustam Sharipov has been leading the Buckeyes since 2011 and currently has OSU (9-1, 1-0) at No. 3 in the country in the College Gymnastics Association rankings. It’s still very early in the conference season, but the Buckeyes are atop the Big Ten. This weekend, the squad sent seven athletes to the Winter Cup in Louisville, with five competing in the all-around (Drake Andrews, Kristian Grahovski, Kameron Nelson, Jesse Pakele, and David Ramirez) and two more (Caden Spencer on high bar and Parker Thackston on pommel horse) going as specialists.
Nelson currently has the best three-score average on vault in the country, while Nelson is second on floor, Thackston is third on pommel horse, and Andrews and Spencer are fourth on the parallel bars and high bar respectively. In total, the Buckeyes have 14 top-25 scores in various events this season.
We just had the Olympics last summer, so I know our attention — especially for men’s gymnastics — isn’t exactly super high right now. However, this Buckeye team still has plenty of room on the bandwagon for folks to jump on and enjoy the ride.
There is still one month left in the regular season before the Big Ten before both the Big Ten and NCAA Championships are in Ann Arbor in April.