How to watch Maine vs. Ohio State: Odds, stream, TV channel in Women's NCAA Tournament

The Round of 64 in the Women’s NCAA Tournament kicks off on Friday, and one of the top teams in the entire field will be in action early on as Ohio State hosts Maine. The matchup will be the second to tipoff that day.

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Ohio State, as a No. 2 seed, is unsurprisingly a heavy favorite to win and move on into the Round of 32. There, a potential matchup with the winner of Duke and Richmond would await.

How to watch Ohio State vs. Maine

Date: Noon on Friday, March 22
Location: Schottenstein Center — Columbus, Ohio
TV Channel: ESPN
Live Stream: Fubo (Try for free)

As one of the top four seeds in its region, Ohio State gets to host games at home during the first weekend of the tournament. And sitting on the No. 2 seed line, the 25-5 Buckeyes get a 15 seed out of the America East Conference in Maine. The Black Bears hold a 24-9 record entering March Madness.

Given the noon tipoff on Friday — the first day of the Round of 64 for the women’s tournament — the Buckeyes and Black Bears will be playing in one of the first games of the tournament (excluding the first four games on Wednesday and Thursday evenings

Odds for Ohio State vs. Maine

The No. 2 seed Buckeyes are, unsurprisingly, big favorites to get the NCAA Tournament started off with a win. Ohio State is a 26.5-point favorite as of Wednesday morning, according to FanDuel, and that number isn’t likely to take a dip soon. The over/under is set at 133.5 total points.

The Buckeyes, winners of the Big Ten regular season championship over Iowa, had an outside chance at securing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but an early loss in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals — Ohio State’s first game of the postseason — likely shut the door on any shot at climbing to the top seed line.

Now Ohio State has a new life in the postseason starting on Friday, and will rely on star graduate guard Jacy Sheldon to lead the way with her 18 points per game. But she’s aided by a trio of teammates averaging double-digit scoring this season: Cotie McMahon, Taylor Thierry and Celeste Taylor.

Those four alone average a combined 53-plus points per game, a pretty good baseline for ongoing success.

Maine, on the other hand, will turn to a pair of stars in leading roles: Anne Simon and Adrianna Smith. Simon, a veteran guard, averages almost 19 points a game and hauls down more than seven rebounds. And Smith, a forward, is averaging a double-double, with more than 16 points per game and nearly 11 rebounds.

And the Black Bears will need everything Simon and Smith can muster to try and pull an iconic upset in the NCAA Tournament on Friday.