Ohio State will play its 18th and final Big Ten regular-season today at Michigan State with a chance to claim at least a share of its first conference championship since 2009-10.
Asked what he would have thought of that possibility before the New Year’s Eve opener against these same Spartans, OSU coach Kevin McGuff found an answer quicker than a Kelsey Mitchell crossover dribble.
“I would have told you that we did a heck of a job,” he said, laughing. “This is a really hard league and it’s hard to win it.”
The fifth-ranked Buckeyes (23-5, 15-2) got a reminder of how hard on Wednesday night in a 90-88 overtime loss at Minnesota that allowed Maryland join them in first place in the conference standings with one game to play.