Buckeyes race past Maine, advance to second round of NCAA Tournament
COLUMBUS — Ohio State has much bigger goals than just winning in the first round for its NCAA Tournament run this March.
But avoiding the early-round upset is nothing to take for granted. And despite the zone-heavy defense from an upset-minded Maine team that won the American East Tournament, the second-seeded Buckeyes had no problems advancing on their home court.
Final score: No. 2 seed Ohio State 80, No. 15 seed Maine 57.
The Buckeyes will play the winner of a matchup between No. 7 seed Duke and No. 10 seed Richmond on Sunday in the Schottenstein Center — with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.
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The win marks the seventh straight first-round NCAA Tournament win for the Buckeyes; they’ve won at least one game in every tournament they’ve appeared in since 2012. Last season, of course, they made it all thew way to the Elite Eight, beating powerhouse UConn in the Sweet 16, before falling to Virginia Tech.
Expectations haven’t changed this time around. In fact, they may be even heightened. The No. 2 seed is the the highest this program has been since 2010. They’re expecting to make a Final Four run.
That simply couldn’t happen if Ohio State slept-walked through the first round and took Maine lightly. Of course, they didn’t, especially after ending the regular season with a loss and bowing out in the quarterfinal — its first game — of the Big Ten Tournament.
Two-game losing streak? Gone. The Buckeyes had no issues with the Black Bears.
Senior star Jacy Sheldon led Ohio State with 19 points, four rebounds and four assists in the first-round win. Cotie McMahon added 13 to help aid the rout and a pair of Buckeyes had 12. Maine had three-point shooting to keep the game close in the first quarter, and the Black Bears were pushing the Buckeyes throughout the first half.
But is simply wasn’t enough, especially against the fast-paced attack Kevin McGuff’s team deploys. It was only a matter of time until the talent on hand at Ohio State took over.
That’s what Ohio State is supposed to do to a team like Maine, though. And it’s a good sign that the Buckeyes didn’t take the Black Bears for granted; that’s how March Madness gets its name.
Instead of suffering a historic upset, Ohio State is moving on like it was expected to do. With the win, the Buckeyes are one step closer to reaching their ultimate goal.
