Shakespeare once said “beware the Ides of March.” Instead of warning about impending misfortune and political betrayal, today we are shouting “beware the (Buck)Eyes of March.”
It has already been a notable month already for a number of Ohio Staters and we are only halfway through March. Just imagine what we might see from those in the scarlet and gray before we hit April as the pressure is raised even more in a number of sports.
Before we fully turn our attention to the brackets in the men’s and women’s
basketball tournaments, Mat Madness in wrestling, the Frozen Four, and other athletic events Ohio State will be involved in, we are going to look back at some of the notables from the first half of the month.
School records, national honors, stellar play, new contracts, and much more!
Bruce Thornton
Senior Day at the Schottenstein Center became even more memorable last Saturday when Bruce Thornton passed Dennis Hopson’s career record for most points in school history. Late in the first half of the 91-78 win over Indiana, Thornton’s three-pointer moved him ahead of the 2,096 points Hopson scored in his Buckeye career.
Thornton finished the game with 25 points, as Ohio State ended the regular season on a three-game winning streak.
Two days after becoming the leading scorer in Ohio State history, Thornton was named Big Ten Player of the Week for the third time this season, and the fourth time in his career. Along with the weekly honor, Thornton was named second team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media for a second straight season.
Thornton has now been named All-Big Ten in three straight seasons after he was placed on the third team in 2024, making him the 17th Buckeye to earn All-Big Ten honors three times.
Because of the leadership of Thornton, Ohio State is likely headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022. The trip to the big dance will be the first of Thornton’s career in his final season of college eligibility.
While it is still unknown who the Buckeyes will be taking on in the first round, there’s no doubt Thornton will soak in every minute of March Madness after he worked so hard to make the tournament.
Jaloni Cambridge
The sophomore guard started off the month by being named to the Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll for the seventh time this season. After entering the Big Ten Tournament as the five-seed, the Buckeyes beat Indiana and Minnesota before falling to eventual conference champions UCLA in the semifinals.
Ohio State will now enter the NCAA Tournament with a 26-7 record, with all seven of their losses coming to ranked teams.
There’s no doubt Jaloni Cambridge is the straw that stirs the drink for the Buckeyes. Along with being named to the National Ballot for the Wooden Award and a Dawn Staley Award finalist, Cambridge was named to the ESPN All-American second team.
This comes on the heels of being named first team All-Big Ten. Heading into the NCAA Tournament, Cambridge is averaging 22.8 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game, and 4.6 assists per game.
Hailey MacLeod
While this is being written before the result of Ohio State’s regional final game against Yale in the NCAA Tournament is known, there might not be a goaltender in women’s college hockey playing better than Hailey MacLeod right now.
To kick off March, MacLeod shutout Minnesota in the WCHA Final Faceoff semifinal game, followed by giving up just one goal to top-ranked Wisconsin in the final, with the 2-1 victory over the Badgers giving the Buckeyes the top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Minnesota Duluth transfer is now in her first season as starter for Ohio State after backing up Amanda Thiele last season. All MacLeod has done is set a single-season program record with 24 wins. Her .889 win percentage ranks third in the country, while her 1.50 goals against average ranks fourth.
Despite only being named third team All-WCHA for her play during the regular season, MacLeod is the goalie no team wants to face in the NCAA Tournament right now since she is peaking at the right time.
Ben Davino & Jesse Mendez
Ohio State had two wrestlers win Big Ten Championships last Sunday. Jesse Mendez claimed his second conference crown at 141 pounds, while redshirt freshman Ben Davino won his first Big Ten title.
Mendez was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year, Davino is Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and Tom Ryan is Big Ten Coach of the Year. Mendez will be looking to add to his legacy on the mat as he will be seeking his third NCAA Championship at the NCAA Tournament, which kicks off on Thursday.
As a team, the Buckeyes earned a second place finish at the conference championships last week in State College. The finish was Ohio State’s best since they placed second in 2019. It was an all-around team effort, as eight Buckeyes were in contention for top-three finishes in their weight classes.
All 10 Ohio State wrestlers will be participating at the NCAA Championships in Cleveland later this week.
Garrett Haas
Even though Ohio State’s men’s lacrosse team suffered their first loss of the season last Saturday in their first game of March against top-ranked Notre Dame, the Buckeyes bounced back on Thursday with a 6-4 win over Denver.
Garrett Haas had two goals in each game, and his 18 goals this season now are tied with Alex Marinier for the team lead. Haas leads the team in overall points, as he has added 15 assists through the first eight games of the season. The Buckeyes are back in action on Saturday at Rutgers.
Matt Patricia
While it was actually signed in February, Matt Patricia’s three-year contract extension wasn’t announced until March. The new deal for the Ohio State defensive coordinator makes him the highest paid assistant coach in college football, with his 2026 salary clocking in at $3.75 million dollars.
Patricia joined Ohio State following the 2024 season following a lengthy NFL career as an assistant coach and a stint as head coach of the Detroit Lions. Even though there was some concerns about how Patricia would adjust to the college game by some in Buckeye Nation, Patricia didn’t take long to earn the trust of Ohio State fans, fielding the top defense in college football last season.
Now with a year of experience as a Buckeye under his belt, Patricia has his eyes on a national title.
Since it is March 15th, @BLeez17 wants to remind you to beware the (Buck)Eyes of March, except instead of bringing news of doom and gloom, he is highlighting some Buckeyes who have had a tremendous start to the month
