Ohio State women's basketball coach Kevin McGuff has said multiple times this season that, unlike many in his profession, he is not a bracketologist.
In the months leading up to the NCAA Tournament, there's little his team can control other than winning games, he has said, so there's little point in focusing on seed lines, regions and pairings that are out of the Buckeyes' control.
Also out of the control of McGuff and the Buckeyes is an NCAA schedule that left No. 11 Ohio State (26-6, 15-1 Big Ten) with more than a week of idle time between the end of the Big Ten tournament and Selection Monday.
It's enough time for even McGuff to take a look at tournament projections.
"Yeah, you know, I will actually probably look at it a little more now," McGuff said last week. "I haven't really done it yet, but probably in the next few days. We'll see how it shakes out."
The Buckeyes will learn their fate shortly after 7 tonight during the tournament selection show broadcast on ESPN. Ohio State's wait won't be as nerve-wracking as what those on the NCAA Tournament bubble will experience, but there's still some suspense for the Buckeyes.
For much of this season, Ohio State has been seeded No. 4 or No. 5 in ESPN projections, the difference between the two seeds being the opportunity to host the first two rounds at St. John Arena.
A loss to Purdue in a Big Ten tournament semifinal briefly knocked the Buckeyes out of the top 16 overall seeds, but DePaul's loss to Marquette in the Big East tournament final bumped Ohio State back up to a projected No. 4 seed.
ESPN women's basketball bracketologist Charlie Creme said Friday he projects the Buckeyes to stay put as a No. 4 seed based on conference regular-season success, but "barely."
"I have them as the 16th team and I think that's going to be one of the major questions to look for on Selection Monday is 'who is that last team?' " Creme said. "I think they have done a little bit more (than other potential No. 4 seeds) by having the co-championship (with Maryland) in the Big Ten in the regular season."
McGuff gave his team the weekend off, but the Buckeyes spent the week of practice on themselves, preparing for the tournament.
"We don't have an opponent right now, so it's only about us and we're going to take this week and make sure we can continue to improve as a team," McGuff said.
But just because the Buckeyes don't yet have an opponent doesn't mean they haven't looked at projections.
Junior guard Linnae Harper said she peeks at Bracketology every now and then. The transfer from Kentucky also said she has received a few amusing tweets with some variation of, "I hope you play in Lexington."
"Once the clock hits and the ball's thrown in the air, it's all business," Harper said. "No matter where we are, we have to play to our best potential and the best we can play to win those
In the months leading up to the NCAA Tournament, there's little his team can control other than winning games, he has said, so there's little point in focusing on seed lines, regions and pairings that are out of the Buckeyes' control.
It's enough time for even McGuff to take a look at tournament projections.
"Yeah, you know, I will actually probably look at it a little more now," McGuff said last week. "I haven't really done it yet, but probably in the next few days. We'll see how it shakes out."
The Buckeyes will learn their fate shortly after 7 tonight during the tournament selection show broadcast on ESPN. Ohio State's wait won't be as nerve-wracking as what those on the NCAA Tournament bubble will experience, but there's still some suspense for the Buckeyes.
For much of this season, Ohio State has been seeded No. 4 or No. 5 in ESPN projections, the difference between the two seeds being the opportunity to host the first two rounds at St. John Arena.
A loss to Purdue in a Big Ten tournament semifinal briefly knocked the Buckeyes out of the top 16 overall seeds, but DePaul's loss to Marquette in the Big East tournament final bumped Ohio State back up to a projected No. 4 seed.
ESPN women's basketball bracketologist Charlie Creme said Friday he projects the Buckeyes to stay put as a No. 4 seed based on conference regular-season success, but "barely."
"I have them as the 16th team and I think that's going to be one of the major questions to look for on Selection Monday is 'who is that last team?' " Creme said. "I think they have done a little bit more (than other potential No. 4 seeds) by having the co-championship (with Maryland) in the Big Ten in the regular season."
McGuff gave his team the weekend off, but the Buckeyes spent the week of practice on themselves, preparing for the tournament.
"We don't have an opponent right now, so it's only about us and we're going to take this week and make sure we can continue to improve as a team," McGuff said.
But just because the Buckeyes don't yet have an opponent doesn't mean they haven't looked at projections.
Junior guard Linnae Harper said she peeks at Bracketology every now and then. The transfer from Kentucky also said she has received a few amusing tweets with some variation of, "I hope you play in Lexington."
"Once the clock hits and the ball's thrown in the air, it's all business," Harper said. "No matter where we are, we have to play to our best potential and the best we can play to win those
