Jamison Battle announces transfer from Minnesota to Ohio State

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MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota’s second-leading scorer Jamison Battle  decided to transfer to Ohio State for his final college season, the fifth-year forward announced on his Instagram account.

The 6-foot-7 Battle was a preseason All-Big Ten pick who missed the first four games of the season with a foot injury and played through back trouble down the stretch. He averaged 12.4 points per game with career-low shooting rates of 37.1 percent from the floor and 31.1 percent from 3-point range. He made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat Rutgers on March 2.

Gophers coach Ben Johnson said after Battle participated in the team’s senior day ceremony that he was leaning toward turning pro, but he entered the portal to keep his options open.

Battle had a superb debut season with the Gophers in 2021-22, when he averaged 17.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game with 36.6% shooting from 3-point range. The Minnesota native transferred home after playing his first two seasons at George Washington.

The Gophers finished 9-22 overall in 2022-23 and in last place in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes were second-to-last before winning three games at the Big Ten Tournament to reach the semifinals. They finished 16-19.

Women making case in tourney for own March Madness TV deal

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Women’s basketball seems to have found a winner with its new Sweet 16 format in March Madness and the timing couldn’t be better with looming TV contract negotiations on the horizon.

There were record-setting attendance at the two sites – Greenville, South Carolina and Seattle – along with record numbers for TV ratings. It fueled the momentum heading into a star-packed Final Four lineup in Dallas.

NCAA selection committee chair Lisa Peterson expects the format success to help in upcoming contract negotiations. The current NCAA TV deal ends next summer.

“It has to,” she said. “I’m very much looking forward to seeing those conversations. It only can be good for the game. People are talking about it.”

TV ratings for games on Friday and Saturday averaged 1.2 million viewers, a 73% increase over last year. Saturday afternoon’s Ohio State and UConn matchup on ABC was the most watched women’s Sweet 16 game on record with an average of 2.4 million.

Ratings were also up for the games Sunday and Monday on ESPN – up 43% gain and averaged 2.2 million. Sunday night’s Iowa-Louisville contest which featured dynamic guard Caitlin Clark led the way at 2.5 million, making it the most watched Elite Eight game on record.

Tag Garson, Wasserman’s senior vice president of properties, said this year’s ratings will be one of many pieces that factor into what path the NCAA will take.

“When you’re looking at how ratings are performing as you’re preparing for a negotiation you don’t just look at one year,” he said. “You’re looking at the historical value while projecting out the future value.”

The NCAA is expected to decide by this fall whether to separate the women’s tournament or keep it as part of the championships TV package that includes at least 24 sports.

Peterson and her group will have a lot to review.

Arenas in Greenville and Seattle were mostly full which created an entertaining atmosphere. While attendance was expected to be high in Greenville with the undefeated Gamecocks there. the closest team to Seattle was Colorado – 1,300 miles away.

The distance didn’t stop fans from flocking to Seattle, with strong support from basketball fans around the city thanks in part to the success of the WNBA’s Storm over the last two decades. In the end, the Seattle region outdrew its South Carolina counterpart by a few thousand. Overall 82,275 fans took in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games, including 43,556 in Seattle.

“It really was a great atmosphere to play in. You love to play in these kind of atmospheres with this kind of crowd and play in a great building like this,” said UConn coach Geno Auriemma whose team played in Seattle.

The NCAA also hopes the success leads to more cities bidding to host the regional games and eventually the Final Four.

“The number of cities that had bid (in the past), we didn’t have that many more options,” Peterson said. “With the success we’ve had hopefully it opens up new doors so we don’t keep going to the same cities.”

The local organizing committee in Seattle said that they expected the tournament to generate more than $8.3 million to the city.

“When we host events like this there’s no playbook to say it’s a guaranteed success,” Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell told The Associated Press. “You don’t know how the fans are going to come out, but what has been proven time and time again, particularly around women’s sports is that they come from all over the state even come from Canada. … The revenue is incredible for our tax base.”

Harrell threw Seattle’s hat in the ring for a future women’s Final Four, saying he would love it if his city got that opportunity.

One of the next steps the NCAA is planning for upcoming two regional sites is to turn them into “mini Final Fours.”

Many fans seemed to enjoy the new format going to more than just their team’s games. Dave Lichliter, who is from Pennsylvania, went to games both Friday and Saturday and enjoyed the expanded field.

“You get to see more teams,” said Lichliter, who was wearing an LSU championship football shirt from 2019. “Next year is Albany (New York) and Portland (Oregon), so we’ll see how that goes.”

So will the NCAA.

The two-city format will be in place at least another three years. The next bid cycle starts in July where regional hosting will be decided from 2027-31.

“We’re doing this for three years. It’s not a permanent deal,” Peterson said. “As always we’ll evaluate it. If we feel it doesn’t work, we’ll see what we need to do to change it. Whether it’s changing formats, or if that’s adding a day, Whatever that looks like, we’ll keep looking at it.”

There were a few logistical bumps with the two sites.

With eight schools at one venue required some adjustments by teams and arena staffs. Practice time on the court was cut from 90 minutes to 60 to allow all eight time on the court. It also required a little more coordination when it came to the locker rooms with teams having to double up.

But none of it seem to bother the players. Some said it felt like an AAU tournament from their younger days with so many teams in the same place.

“I think it’s fun. I think it’s cool,” said Clark, before he Hawkeyes guard added: “Obviously we’re not going to be coming to all the games, that’s just not really how it works, but I think I like the two regional sites.”

UConn’s Final Four streak ends with 73-61 loss to Ohio State

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Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports
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SEATTLE — UConn’s record Final Four run is over, thanks to a monumental performance by Ohio State.

The Buckeyes ended UConn’s unprecedented streak of reaching 14 consecutive Final Fours, beating the Huskies 73-61 on Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

“The problem with streaks is the longer they go, you’re closer to it ending than you are to the beginning of it,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “It’s just a matter of time. I mean, it’s not if it’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of time when it’s going to happen. And it was going to happen sooner rather than later.”

Cotie McMahon scored 23 points for the Buckeyes, who snapped their three-decade Elite Eight drought. The Buckeyes hadn’t made a regional final since 1993, when they eventually lost in the title game to Texas Tech.

“When I had the opportunity to come to Ohio State, this was certainly the goal and the vision to go farther than they have been going,” said coach Kevin McGuff, who had never beaten UConn. “It’s not easy to get here, obviously. But I’m really proud of our team and our program of how we’ve evolved to be able to get to this point.

“Like I said, I mean, I have so much respect for Geno and his staff and all that they have accomplished. So for us to be able to win this game in the Sweet 16 is obviously extremely significant. They’re just hard to beat. They’re so well-coached. So this is a great win for us.”

The third-seeded Buckeyes (28-7) forced No. 2 seed UConn (31-6) into 25 turnovers, ending the Huskies’ season before the national semifinals for the first time in 14 seasons. UConn hadn’t been eliminated this early since 2006.

“It’s an impossibility to do what we have done already,” Auriemma said. “What’s the next highest streak? … And you take that in stride and you say, yeah, it was great while it lasted and it’s a credit to all the players that we had and all the times that you have to perform really, really well at this level.”

Ohio State will play Virginia Tech on Monday night in the Seattle 3 Region final with a trip to Dallas at stake. The Hokies beat Tennessee 73-64.

Ohio State, which had to rally from a double-digit deficit in the first round against James Madison, used full-court pressure to disrupt the Huskies’ offense.

“Our press is what we rely on, and sticking together and talking through it,” said Ohio State’s Jacy Sheldon, who had 17 points and went 10-for-10 from the foul line. “We knew UConn was going to be ready for us, so we knew we were going to have to stay consistent throughout the game.”

This has been the most trying year of Auriemma’s Hall of Fame career. UConn was beset by injuries and illnesses to both players and coaches, including a torn ACL that sidelined star Paige Bueckers all season. It got so bad the Huskies had to postpone a game when they didn’t have enough scholarship players. They also saw their unbelievable run of 30 years without consecutive losses come to an end.

“We picked the worst day to actually be doing the things that we’ve been struggling with all year long,” Auriemma said in a sideline interview during the game.

Lou Lopez Senechal scored 25 points for the Huskies, Azzi Fudd had 14, and Ohio State transfer Dorka Juhasz finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

The Huskies led 17-9 before Ohio State started scoring and turning UConn over with its full-court press. The Buckeyes scored the next 17 points, forcing 11 turnovers during that stretch, which spanned the first and second quarters. UConn had eight turnovers to start the second quarter, leaving Auriemma exasperated on the sideline.

McMahon was converting those turnovers into points for the Buckeyes as the freshman finished the half with 18 points – equaling the number of turnovers the Huskies had in the opening 20 minutes. Ohio State led 36-26 at the break.

This was only the sixth time UConn had trailed by double digits at the half in an NCAA Tournament game, according to ESPN. The Huskies lost all of those.

UConn did a better job of taking care of the ball in the second half and cut the deficit to 44-39 on Senechal’s layup with 3:53 left in the third quarter. Ohio State responded and still led by 10 after three quarters.

The Buckeyes didn’t let the Huskies make any sort of run in the fourth quarter. UConn got within nine with 4:30 left, but McMahon had a three-point play to restore the double-digit lead. The Huskies never threatened after that.

Now the Huskies will start their offseason sooner than any time in the past 17 years.

TIP-INS

This was the first win for Ohio State over UConn in seven tries. The teams’ last meeting was in the 2019-20 regular season. … UConn was a paltry 7-for-15 from the foul line while Ohio State went 22-for-30. … UConn’s season high for turnovers was 27 against Princeton.

THE HOUSE THAT SUE BUILT

The Seattle Regionals are being played in Climate Pledge Arena – home of the Seattle Storm. UConn and Storm great Sue Bird was in the stands, sitting a few rows behind the scorers’ table. She received a loud ovation from the crowd when she was shown midway through the first quarter on the videoboards.

FAMILIAR FOE

Juhasz graduated from Ohio State two years ago and flourished there, earning all-Big Ten honors twice. She came to UConn last year looking for a new challenge and wanting to play for a team that could compete for national championships. She’ll leave without one.

There is a mutual respect between Juhasz and the Buckeyes’ coaching staff.

No. 3 Ohio State beats No. 6 UNC 71-69, advances to Sweet 16

Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Jacy Sheldon made a tiebreaking jumper in the lane with 1.8 seconds left to lift No. 3 Ohio State to a 71-69 win over No. 6 seed North Carolina and help the Buckeyes advance to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season.

With the game tied, Sheldon took the pass from Eboni Walker and floated in the game-winning score. North Carolina had one final chance, but turned it over with a second remaining.

“Eboni did a great job,” Sheldon said. “It didn’t go as planned and she made a great play there, and that’s what led to that bucket. So I think keeping our composure in that situation was huge, keeping possession of the ball. And that was all Eboni.”

Ohio State (27-7) saw its 12-point lead with 7:02 to go erased as the Tar Heels went on a 13-2 run midway through the fourth quarter. The Tar Heels did most of that run without star Deja Kelly, who exited midway through the final quarter with a leg injury. She went to the locker room, but returned to the court a short time later.

Trailing 66-63, Kelly made two free throws before Paulina Paris made a layup in transition to give the Tar Heels (22-11) its first lead of the game with 2:09 left.

Sheldon scored to give the Buckeyes the lead back with 1:07 left. She added a free throw 29 seconds later to make it a two-point game.

Kelly, who finished with 22 points to lead North Carolina, hit a jumper to tie the game at 69 with 9 seconds left.

“I asked them to be what they have been all year, which is a group of fighters,” North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart said. “We asked them to be hard to beat, and we thought those things would get us to a Sweet 16. They did all of those things, right, but you got to be so good to win in March, so good, and we just were not quite good enough.”

Ohio State led the entirety of the first half, including by as many as nine points in the first quarter, on 46% shooting. Taylor Mikesell went 3-of-6 from beyond the arc in the first half.

Sheldon finished with 16 points, Walker added 15 and Cotie McMahon scored 14. Taylor Mikesell had a team-high 17.

“This is a great win for us because it puts us in the Sweet 16 but also just I have so much respect for North Carolina,” Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said. “We beat a great opponent today.”

X’S AND O’S

McGuff said Ohio State’s final play design was intended to give Sheldon the basketball, but it didn’t unfold according to plan.

Walker, who averaged over 14 minutes and 4 1/2 points per game this season, took the inbounds pass from Rikki Harris, looked toward Sheldon after catching the ball, dribbled to the top of the key and hooked it back to Sheldon for the game-winning score.

“Eboni made a great decision not passing the initial one to Jacy because she really wasn’t open, and then we swung the ball back around and got it back in her hands,” McGuff said. “I told her in the locker room sometimes it’s about X’s and O’s and sometimes it’s about having the best player on the court.”

BIG PICTURE

North Carolina: The Tar Heels allowed an opposing team to shoot at least 50% for the third time all season and first time since December. North Carolina allowed the Buckeyes to shoot 54.2% in the second half.

Ohio State: The Buckeyes have made second-half comebacks in all four of their postseason victories, including a 24-point resurgence that broke the Big Ten Tournament record March 4. Ohio State advances to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time since the 2015-16 season.

UP NEXT

Ohio State will play the winner of No. 2 seed UConn and No. 7 seed Baylor in the Seattle 3 Regional.

No. 13 seed Ohio State reaches semis, 68-58 over Spartans

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CHICAGO – Bruce Thornton had 21 points and six assists, freshman Roddy Gayle Jr. scored seven of his season-high 15 points in the final five minutes and short-handed Ohio State beat fourth-seeded Michigan State 68-58 in the Big Ten Conference Tournament.

Ohio State (16-18) became the lowest seed, at No. 13, to ever reach the Big Ten semifinals. The Buckeyes will face top-seeded Purdue on Saturday, looking for their first win in three tries this season.

The Buckeyes were without leading scorer Brice Sensabaugh, at 16.3 points per game, due to knee soreness. But Gayle, who hadn’t scored in double figures since netting 12 points on Dec. 3 against St. Francis (Pa.), scored 12 points in the second half to make up for Sensabaugh’s absence.

Gayle extended Ohio State’s lead to 51-39 on a 3-pointer with 8:05 remaining and Justice Sueing added another 3-pointer on their next possession. Gayle made two free throws with 4:27 left and after Michigan State airballed a 3-pointer, Gayle rattled in a 3-pointer to make it 61-50. Gayle added a tough layup for an 11-point lead to cap his run of seven straight points for Michigan State.

Sueing finished with four 3-pointers and 14 points for Ohio State, which lost both regular-season meetings with Michigan State, 62-41 on Feb. 12 and 84-78 on March 4.

Ohio State had its lead trimmed to 36-34 before Thornton and Sueing made back-to-back 3-pointers to start a 10-2 run. Thornton capped the run with a fast-break layup after Sueing blocked a Michigan State shot at the rim.

Joey Hauser led Michigan State (19-12) with 15 points. Jaden Akins, A.J. Hoggard and Tyson Walker each scored 10.

Michigan State missed 13 of 15 shots midway through the first half before Tre Holloman scored with 5:56 left before the break. Ohio State scored eight points around Holloman’s basket to extend its lead to 28-19 and led 33-24 at halftime as Michigan State was held to 31% shooting, including 1 of 9 from 3-point range.

13th-seeded Buckeyes top Iowa, win again in Big Ten tourney

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CHICAGO – Bruce Thornton scored 17 points and Roddy Gayle Jr. had all nine of his points in the final six minutes to help give 13th-seeded Ohio State to a 73-69 win over fifth-seeded Iowa in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday.

Brice Sensabaugh added 16 points, Justice Sueing 14 and Sean McNeil 13 for the Buckeyes (15-18), who will play fourth-seeded Michigan State in Friday’s quarterfinals. Ohio State beat the 12-seed, Wisconsin, in the first round.

Filip Rebraca scored 20 points, Kris Murray 17 and Tony Perkins 16 for the Hawkeyes (19-13).

Gayle tied the game with a jumper then hit a 3-pointer for the game’s 18th and final lead change at 64-61 with about 3 1/2 minutes remaining.

A wild scramble for the ball that spanned the entire court and had several players spilling to the floor with possession flip-flopping ended with the ball out of bounds to Ohio State with 11.5 left and leading 71-69. The Buckeyes inbounded the ball to Sueing and his free throws clinched it.

The teams split their regular-season meetings with the winner scoring in the 90s. Iowa came in first in the Big Ten and in the top 20 nationally in scoring offense at 80.6 per game and Ohio State averaged 72.8. But the game got off to a slow start offensively in the first half with Ohio State leading 29-28 at the break.

While Ohio State finished 7 of 18 from the arc, Iowa was only 4 of 17 and was outscored 14-8 off turnovers that included 10 Buckeyes steals.