It is Big Ten Tournament time and the No. 5 seed Ohio State women’s basketball earned a single bye into Thursday’s games.
After a one-sided opening game of the tournament between the No. 13 Indiana Hoosiers and No. 12 Nebraska Cornhuskers, head coach Teri Moren’s Hoosiers overcame a 20-point deficit right before halftime to earn a home victory over the Cornhuskers.
The last time these two teams played, it was the Buckeyes overcoming a big Hoosier lead, foul trouble for guard Shay Ciezki and an even
offensive attack from Ohio State soon after the injury to forward Kylee Kitts.
Comebacks
In the last five games of the regular season, head coach Kevin McGuff’s side had two performances that included early double-digit leads followed by crushing defeat. The Indiana Hoosiers were down 20 points in the opening Big Ten Tournament game to the Nebraska Cornhuskers with 1:17 remaining in the first half.
The Cornhuskers pummeled the paint with forward Amiah Hargrove, who had seven second quarter points to push the double-digit lead. Hargrove went 5-for-6 from the floor in the first half and the Hoosiers had no answer for her, or the shooting to withstand it.
Indiana was outshot 38.7% to 51.4% and the five-person rotation for Hoosier head coach Teri Moren struggled.
With Indiana’s season on the line, it was not team leader and All-Big Ten selection Ciezki alone who led the side out of the hole but an even offensive attack. The Hoosiers defense held Nebraska to 10 made baskets in the final 20 minutes while the five members of the Crimson who played a majority of the second half each scored at least six points.
Nebraska’s lead sprung a leak and it felt inevitable that Indiana was on its way to victory in front of a friendly home crowd. With 1:06 remaining in the game, guard Lenee Beaumont hit the go-ahead three-point shot to give Indiana a lead that it did not lose.
Nebraska looked disjointed and failed to stop the Hoosiers with late fouls and an open layup given to Ciezki immediately after the Beaumont three.
Back on Jan. 22, when the Hoosiers traveled to Columbus, Indiana came out of the gate quickly to build a 15-point lead in less than six minutes of the game. While it was a lead Indiana ultimately lost, it showed that when Indiana makes shot, and spreads the ball around, no lead is safe.
It is also a different Indiana side for Ohio State. When the teams first met, Indiana was inside of its 10-game losing streak to start the conference season.
“They [Indiana] had sort of a slow start from a win standpoint. I thought they they were playing actually pretty well, just not winning. But now they’ve won a lot late,” head coach Kevin McGuff told reporters.
Indiana won six of its last eight games to go from potentially missing the 15-team Big Ten Tournament altogether to comfortably land in the field at No. 13. While the Buckeyes enter the game as the favorite based on seed, the Hoosiers battled back multiple times this season. Does Ciezki and Indiana have one more left to extend the senior guard’s NCAA career?
Kitts-less Buckeyes
When the two teams played last, Ohio State had a new starting lineup because of an injury in the prior game for the Buckeyes. Late in the Jan. 19, 2026 trip to Newark, New Jersey, redshirt freshman forward Kylee Kitts strained her shoulder. While Kitts returned, it was short lived and the forward missed the next six games.
That could have been a reason why the Hoosiers went ahead so quickly. McGuff brought sophomore guard Ava Watson into the lineup, a spot she has not lost since the injury, but how does Kitts look against Indiana? Does it give Ohio State an advantage over the Hoosiers since they have no previous experience against the 6-foot-4 interior and exterior shooting threat?
It depends on which Kitts is on display.
Since her return, she has not looked comfortable. That and a brace on her injured shoulder means Kitts is not back to 100% health, but there are signs that she is getting closer. Against the Michigan Wolverines, Kitts had her best performance since the shoulder injury. Kitts had 11 points, 3 rebounds and 1 block in 13 minutes on the court.
The season finale against the Michigan State Spartans was a different story, but not due to health. Kitts came into the game and in 6:04 of game clock, the forward fouled out.
“I thought she played her best game since being back against Michigan. And then, unfortunately, against Michigan State, she got into some foul trouble and ultimately fouled out,” McGuff said. “So, I was hoping we could have played her some more minutes just to continue to get her more comfortable. But I think that’s just it. She’s just trying to kind of get back in a rhythm and feel as comfortable as she can.”
Watson is still likely to start the game, and that gives the Buckeyes another strong on-ball defender against Ciezki and the Hoosiers, but do not be surprised if Kitts gets more minutes and produces more on the court. As long as she does not get into foul trouble.
Indiana entered the tournament last in the conference in rebounding with 32.5 per game. Ohio State center Elsa Lemmilä has at least 10 rebounds in the last four games. If Kitts gets on the court with Lemmilä or replaces her, it means Ohio State does not lose that advantage and Kitts gets important reps for any possible additional Big Ten Tournament games and the NCAA Tournament that follows.
Snub Motivation
The matchup to watch in this one though are the guards. Ciezki is the reason that the Hoosiers are in this position. Ciezki was second in the Big Ten behind Jaloni Cambridge with 23.2 points per game. It earned the guard a spot on the coaches’ Second Team All-Big Ten and First Team for the media.
The Indiana point guard will be a handful for whoever matches up, but Ohio State has added motivation for the Cambridge sisters.
On Tuesday, the Big Ten announced its postseason honors and Jaloni Cambridge and Kennedy Cambridge were both realistic chances for Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards, respectively. Instead, UCLA Bruins center Lauren Betts picked up not just one but both awards, despite even statistics showing that Kennedy Cambridge especially excelled defensively all season.
After the awards went out, Kennedy Cambridge, who publicly shared her goals of winning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and then National Defensive Player of the Year, posted about her disappointment on Instagram.
Behind the scenes, McGuff and the elder Cambridge sister also discussed the missed accolade.
“I talked to her [Kennedy Cambridge] yesterday a little bit, and once again, she set that as a goal,” McGuff said. “It’s a little bit disappointing, but she’s really team first in everything that she does, and so I think just she’ll go out there and play extremely hard and try to let her play speak for herself.”
Against the Hoosiers the first time, Kennedy Cambridge had six steals in the Buckeyes’ 26 forced turnovers. Will this snub and disappointment propel Kennedy Cambridge or be a distraction? If the season resume of work is an indicator, the guard with a program record 120 steals will be key for Ohio State’s defense.
How to Watch
Date: Thursday, March 5, 2026
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Television: Big Ten Network
Stream: FOX Sports
