Ohio State Buckeyes WBB Restoring Elite Defense

The zone full court press has been a blessing for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

After starting the season on a loss to USC on Nov. 6, the Ohio State Buckeyes women's basketball team has revamped its best offense by cracking down on its defense.

Even though the Buckeyes forced 20 Trojan turnovers, they were unable to stop freshman Juju Watkins or rebound effectively. They gave up 13 offensive rebounds, turning into multiple second-chance points for junior center Rayah Marshall.

Since then, Ohio State has been on a defensive tear, forcing a Big Ten-best 21.5 turnovers per game. They have also benefited from the return of former defensive all-conference graduate guard Jacy Sheldon, who only played 13 games last season.

The backcourt of Sheldon and 2023 ACC Defensive Player of the Year Celeste Taylor has held defenses to an average of 55.2 points in their last five games, including allowing a season-low 40 points against Cornell Sunday.

Head coach Kevin McGuff said postgame the Buckeyes’ full-court press worked well almost all game.

“We had some stretches where our press was very effective,” McGuff said. “We executed, our aggression was good and it resulted in a lot of turnovers that turned into easy points for us.”

Taylor said despite the team scoring 33 points off 26 Big Red turnovers, the Buckeyes have work to do “in the halfcourt.”

“At the end of the day, defense is beating people to the spot and being able to read, and I think we have a lot of people who can be placed at different positions to be able to do that,” Taylor said postgame Sunday.

Head coach Kevin McGuff has thrown a variation of full-court presses at opposing teams, mostly going for a 2-2-1 trap or 1-2-2 zone. Taylor said the mix of different defenses has allowed the team to force turnovers and limit teams to less than 39 percent from the field.

“[Playing different defenses is] difficult because they can’t prepare for every single thing,” Taylor said.

Ohio State almost always switches from a zone press to a man-to-man defense in the halfcourt. They have recorded 59 steals because of their on-ball pressure and anticipation in passing lanes.

The Buckeye defense isn’t going anywhere — but they will face a test against No. 19 Tennessee, who averages almost 84 points per game, Sunday in a hostile environment in Knoxville.