Ohio State returns to AP poll at No. 23

Over the last three seasons, Ohio State women’s basketball consistently found itself ranked on the Associated Press’ weekly top-25 ranking. Selected by a panel of media members across the country, the Buckeyes missed only three weeks from the start of the 2021-22 season through the end of the 24-25 campaign. With graduations and transfers, the overhauled Ohio State roster was not included in the AP poll this season, but on Monday moved back into a top-25 spot at No. 23.

The Buckeyes earned their place in the rankings through two wins over the Belmont Bruins, then No. 21 West Virginia Mountaineers, and a program record-shattering 130-32 win over the Niagara University Purple Eagles.

Of the three, Ohio State’s improbable victory over West Virginia stuck out the most. At the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship, in the Bahamas, the Scarlet and Gray fought back from a late seven-point deficit. Comebacks are nothing new to the Buckeyes program over recent years, but what made it so unexpected were the players not on the court.

Guards Jaloni Cambridge and Kennedy Cambridge left the game in the fourth quarter after they both earned five fouls. The two starters, who lead the team on both sides of the ball with Jaloni Cambridge’s 19.9 points per game and Kennedy Cambridge’s team-leading 69.4% defensive rating, could only watch as freshman guard Bryn Martin, sophomore guard Ava Watson, and sophomore center Elsa Lemmilä made key plays to claw back.

By the end of regulation, two other players joined them on the bench, and the five eligible remaining players saw the Buckeyes’ victory over the finish line. Because of that victory, and some help from teams falling in the AP rankings, Ohio State returned to the poll.

In the preseason AP poll, the Buckeyes received the 26th most votes, which left the program just outside of the top-25. After Ohio State’s 100-68 loss to No. 1 UConn, it moved down to the 28th spot in the country and stayed there until the return to the top-25 in week five.

Ohio State’s return gives the Big Ten conference eight teams in the top-25, which ties it with the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Despite a loss to a top-10 Texas Longhorns side, the UCLA Bruins stayed in the top five but fell from No. 3 to No. 4. The Michigan Wolverines (6) and Maryland Terrapins (7) round out the top 10 for the Big Ten.

The Iowa Hawkeyes (12), USC Trojans (16), Michigan State Spartans (20), and Washington Huskies (21) are the other four teams representing the conference in the national ranking.

After the win over then No. 21 West Virginia, the Buckeyes do not play another ranked team until Dec. 28, 2025. That is when the UCLA Bruins head to Columbus for the first-ranked Big Ten game of the season for both teams.

Last season, the Bruins defeated the Buckeyes 65-52. The last time the two teams played at the Schottenstein Center was in the 23—24 season, the year before the Bruins entered the conference, and UCLA came away with the win then, too, in a 77-71 Ohio State loss.