Minnesota handled itself brilliantly against Ohio State’s high-pressure, up-tempo defense while dispatching the Buckeyes at Williams Arena in mid-February.
The same could not be said Friday in Indianapolis.
The fourth-seeded Gophers committed a season-high 21 turnovers in a 60-55 loss to No. 5-seed Ohio State in the Big Ten quarterfinals. The Buckeyes will meet top-seeded UCLA in Saturday’s semifinals.
Minnesota, on the other hand, exits the tournament as a one-and-done participant after earning a double-bye as one of the conference’s top-four seeds. The No. 19-ranked Gophers do so not feeling as though they put their best foot forward.
“In order to compete against the best, you’re going to have to play at a really, really high level,” Gophers coach Dawn Plitzuweit said. “I don’t think that we played as well as we could play, obviously.”
Aside from the turnovers, Minnesota struggled to shoot — particularly from distance. The Gophers missed their first nine 3-point attempts, and again couldn’t buy one in the closing two minutes. For the game, the Gophers went just 6 for 26 from beyond the arc.
Minnesota had a distinct advantage on the glass, pulling down 44 boards compared to No. 11-ranked Ohio State’s 27. Doing much of that damage for Minnesota was Sophie Hart. The Farmington native had 12 points and 19 rebounds, while Grace Grocholski paced Minnesota with 18 points.
But Ohio State center Elsa Lemmilä had a double double of her own and Buckeyes star guard Jaloni Cambridge controlled the contest, finishing with 17 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals.
While Minnesota had a size advantage, Ohio State’s quickness was the game’s determining factor.
“I thought they played a really good game. I thought they were really aggressive, made us feel really uncomfortable, got us sped up in a lot of ways, and forced us to turn the ball over in either full-court scenario or even in the half-court scenario,” Plitzuweit said. “And then I thought when we had good opportunities, even in the fourth quarter, we just — it looked like we felt sped up and rushed a little bit, and didn’t capitalize on a lot of those.”
Teams can be more susceptible to that in win-or-go-home situations, particularly one like Minnesota, which sports so little postseason experience.
In that way, Friday could prove invaluable for the Gophers, whose next game will come in the program’s first NCAA Tournament game in eight years.
“I think that’s something we’ve been striving for every single year since we’ve been here,” Grocholski said. “So, I think we’re obviously super grateful to be in the position we are.”
Where that game will be played remains to be seen. The Gophers were ranked No. 15 on the selection committee’s final pre-tournament update. The top 16 teams on Selection Sunday will host the first two rounds of the tournament, meaning Williams Arena could be an NCAA Tournament site.
But Ohio State was No. 16 in those rankings, and it would now be a massive surprise if the Buckeyes didn’t leapfrog Minnesota. It’s possible Friday’s loss will cost Minnesota a chance to host the opening weekend, though the Gophers’ resume remains formidable.
Selection Sunday is March 15.
“Certainly proud of our young ladies,” Plitzuweit said, “for putting themselves in a position where we feel very confident that our body of work has put us in a good spot for the next tournament.”
Said Buckeyes coach Kevin McGuff of the Gophers: “I think they have a chance to play really well in March Madness.”
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