Ohio State women's basketball clinches share of Big Ten regular season title

Ohio State‘s women’s basketball team won their 14th straight game on Sunday and their 15th conference matchup of the season with a 79-66 home win against Maryland. Officially securing a share of the Big Ten regular season championship and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.

The Buckeyes last won a share of the Big Ten regular-season title in the 2021-22 season, and this year’s championship represents the program’s 16th in school history. Leading all Big Ten teams in conference history.

With two games still remaining in the regular season, the No. 2 ranked Buckeyes will at least be co-champions of the Big Ten. Sitting atop the conference rankings with a 15-1 record in Big Ten play and a 24-3 record on the season. They can win the conference title outright with a win in one of their last two matchups against Michigan or Iowa.

The Hawkeyes and Indiana trail two games behind the Buckeyes in the standings, but with a 2-0 record against both teams so far this season, Ohio State holds a tiebreaker over either team if the regular season ends in a tie.

Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff was asked about earning the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and a share of the conference title immediately following the game. But revealed that the focus remained solely on defeating the Terrapins and now winning their rematch against Michigan.

“Really for me it was more about playing Maryland today. They’re really good, they’re playing their best basketball of the year right now,” McGuff said. “I think they’re gonna be a tough out in March and we’ve got more games to play. So it’s really about now focusing on Michigan, who obviously beat us in Ann Arbor. And they’ll come in prepared, so we gotta have two great days of practice and on to the next one.”

All five of the Buckeyes’ starters scored in double-figures on senior night versus Maryland, with Celeste Taylor leading the way with a season-high 20 points. Sunday also marked the 17th game of the season where Ohio State recorded at least 10 steals on the defensive end of the floor, remaining the top-scoring defense in the Big Ten.

The Buckeyes’ last loss came to Michigan on December 30, as they’ll look to remain undefeated in the 2024 calendar year and win the Big Ten regular season title outright as they face their rival on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET.