With five games remaining in the regular season, No. 9 Ohio State women’s basketball (22-3) has established itself as a top team in the Big Ten. But there is no room for the Buckeyes to get comfortable.
“The schedule’s unforgiving,” coach Kevin McGuff said. “There are so many good teams that we’re going to have a hard time against. And I think, to us specifically, we can probably play with or beat anybody. We could lose to a lot of teams, though.”
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Ohio State finished its West Coast road trip strong, notching victories over No. 25 Washington and Oregon to extend its winning streak to four games.
More: No. 9 Ohio State women top Oregon to go undefeated on West Coast
Even with conference losses to UCLA and Iowa, the Buckeyes are third in the Big Ten and can secure a double-bye for the conference tournament by winning four out of their five final regular-season games. The top four teams in the Big Ten receive byes into the tournament’s quarterfinals, a position Ohio State has been in the past three seasons.
The Buckeyes have to pick up the wins during their toughest stretch of the season, with each of their upcoming opponents sitting in the top half of the standings.
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“When we get to the tournament in March, it’s only going to be top teams,” Ohio State guard Kennedy Cambridge said. “It’s going to be everybody going for each other. So this is good preparation for us and our team when we get there, because every game’s going to be hard.”
Ohio State Buckeyes guard Jaloni Cambridge (22) and forward Kylee Kitts (1) prepare for tipoff before the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the NCAA basketball game at Value City Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
Ohio State starts with a rematch against No. 20 Maryland, whom the Buckeyes beat last month with a 15-point comeback in the second half. Then comes a game at Minnesota.
Minnesota is the only team Ohio State has on the conference schedule that averages fewer than 11 turnovers (10.1). The Buckeyes’ offense relies heavily on opponent turnovers, as they record 25.6 points off turnovers per game and a conference-leading 12.8 steals per game.
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After facing the Golden Gophers, the Buckeyes will look for their first win over USC since 2006. Ohio State has fallen to the Trojans in their past two meetings.
While the Trojans (15-9) have taken a step back without guard Juju Watkins, already having five more regular-season losses than they did in the 2024-25 season, they have had some key wins, including against Iowa.
“We play in the Big Ten, where you could lose or win any game,” Ohio State center Elsa Lemmila said. “Any team could lose or win any game. So we really try not to look at the ranking and the number in front of the team. It’s just that every team is a good team, and we have to beat them.”
The last two games of Ohio State’s regular season are against No. 7 Michigan and No. 13 Michigan State.
Ohio State Buckeyes center Elsa Lemmilä (12) looks to pass the ball in the second half of the NCAA basketball game at Value City Arena on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
If this stretch had been scheduled for a month earlier, McGuff’s confidence in the Buckeyes would likely be significantly lower.
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“I knew I really liked our team, and we had a lot of good pieces, but I also knew we had a long, long way to go,” McGuff said. “And where we are right now, the key is we’ve gotten a lot better. … It’s a credit to our team just committing to showing up every day and working hard.”
Led by point guard Jaloni Cambridge, the Buckeyes have improved in multiple offensive areas, including 3-point average, which has gone from 27.7% to 30% since losing to UCLA on Dec. 28.
Cambridge averages 22.5 points per game while shooting 51.6% from the field. Against conference opponents, Cambridge is the Big Ten’s top scorer with 25.8 points per game, and in all games the sophomore is just below Indiana’s Shay Ciezki (24.1 points per game).
Ohio State Buckeyes guard Jaloni Cambridge (22) shoots the ball against the Indiana Hoosiers in the second half of the NCAA basketball game at Value City Arena on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
The focus for Ohio State going forward is ensuring there are no quarters taken off. Throughout Big Ten play, the Buckeyes have let nine of their 13 opponents hang within 10 points until the second half before pulling away.
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“We’re really vulnerable to lose to anybody if we don’t play really hard and execute and focus at a high level,” McGuff said. “We just don’t have much of a margin for error
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: How Ohio State women’s basketball could finish Big Ten regular season
