Scarlet Sunrise: Ohio State women's basketball set for second-round matchup with UNC

Good morning, Ohio State fans, and welcome to the Scarlet Sunrise. Football will always be our focus, but every day we’ll cover news, notes and analysis from across Buckeyes sports. Join us each morning to get caught up on everything you missed in the world of Buckeyes football, recruiting, basketball and more in Scarlet Sunrise.

Ohio State women’s basketball set for second-round NCAA Tournament matchup with UNC

Ohio State women’s basketball has an opportunity to reach back-to-back Sweet Sixteens for the first time since 2016-17 Monday when it takes on sixth-seeded North Carolina in The Schottenstein Center (except, that 2017 trip was vacated by the NCAA). The third-seeded Buckeyes orchestrated a 12-point comeback Saturday against 14th-seeded James Madison to avoid an embarrassing opening-round defeat and advance to the Round of 32.

Ohio State’s second-round matchup with UNC is set for a 4 p.m. tip-off.

The Tar Heels needed late-game heroics to reach this point. They bested 11th-seeded St. John’s, 61-59, in the first round of the tournament, in large part thanks to junior guard Deja Kelly, who led UNC with 18 points and is her team’s top scorer this season (16.3 points per game).

The Heels were in the driver’s seat until the fourth quarter when St. John’s took the lead. Ultimately, though, Kelly broke a 58-58 tie, completing an and-one with under two seconds left. She was responsible for a controversial foul beyond the arc on St. John’s Danielle Patterson the ensuing possession, but Patterson hit only 1-of-3 free throws, and UNC held on for the win.

Like Ohio State, UNC also made the Sweet Sixteen last season. The Heels lead the all-time series against the Buckeyes, 5-3. Interestingly enough, the teams have squared off in the NCAA Tournament before. Back in 2015, UNC edged Ohio State, 86-84, in a second-round matchup in Chapel Hill. That year, the Buckeyes also beat JMU in the opening round to get within striking distance of the Sweet Sixteen.

Justice Sueing finished trying sixth year, battle-tested Buckeyes career on high note

On the men’s side, things have been quiet since Ohio State bowed out of the Big Ten Tournament. That said, as disappointing as the Buckeyes’ 2022-23 season turned out to be, they did finish strong. Ohio State, second-to-last in the league regular season standings, became the lowest seed in Big Ten Tournament history to reach the semifinal. Sixth-year forward Justice Sueing was a big part of that four-day run.

Sueing — a team captain who had an up-and-down final year with the Buckeyes — averaged 14.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.0 steal, not to mention only 1.8 turnovers per game, in the United Center. The versatile forward was a spark plug for Ohio State, most notably shooting a blistering 10-of-19 from beyond the arc. To put that into perspective, he entered the league tournament having made just 18 triples all season. He raised his year-long 3-point percentage approximately five percentage points while in Chicago.

Sueing won’t leave Columbus with a program-defining legacy, but he did help usher in the new era of Buckeyes men’s basketball after battling through adversity his final three years at Ohio State.

For the full story on Sueing’s sixth year and his persistence, go here.

Ohio State women’s hockey loses national title game to Wisconsin

Ohio State women’s hockey came oh so close to repeating as national champions. The top-seeded and defending champion Buckeyes fell to unseeded Wisconsin in the Frozen Four final, 1-0, Sunday.

It went down as the Badgers’ seventh-ever national title. Meanwhile, Ohio State was searching for its second in as many years, this time as the season-long frontrunners. With the exception of one week, the Buckeyes were the No. 1 team in the country for the entire year. But, for the first time this season — and in 57 games total — Ohio State was shut out. The No. 2 offense in the sport came up with 31 shots, 10 more than Wisconsin, but not one of them got past Wisconsin goalie Cami Kronish, who turned away 16 shots in the first period alone.

On the other hand, Buckeyes netminder Amanda Thiele gave up the day’s lone goal, effectively the game-winner, about 14 minutes into the national title showdown. Kirsten Simms was responsible for that scoring play. After that, however, the Ohio State defense — headlined by Patty Kazmaier Award winner Sophie Jaques — was sound.

The Buckeyes won the faceoff battle, 29-25, but were only on the power play once (0-of-1). Still, they had a couple good chances to notch the equalizer in the third period. For instance, with approximately three minutes remaining, Kronish used her glove to stop a shot from Ohio State’s Madison Bizal. A rebound opportunity followed, although the Buckeyes couldn’t capitalize. They couldn’t light the lamp, either, when they pulled Thiele with 1:14 to go.

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Indiana: 166 days

Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 250 days

Are you subscribed yet?

Are you ready to get all your latest Ohio State news in one place? Become a member of Lettermen Row today. With your Lettermen Row/On3+ membership, you’ll not only have access to the everything that’s happening with the Buckeyes, but you’ll also be able to peruse other fan sites within the network to hear just how rivals are feeling about Ohio State, as well. Make sure to follow along on Twitter, Instagram and on Youtube for all the latest Buckeyes news you need to know.