By Danielle Daniels
ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine women’s basketball team (24-9) has earned a No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will take on No. 2 seeded Ohio State (25-5) in the first round.
The Black Bears will meet the Buckeyes on Friday, March 22 at noon at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
This will be Maine’s 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its first since 2019. The Black Bears are 1-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with their lone win being a 60-58 victory over No. 7 Stanford on March 12, 1999.
Maine and Ohio State last met in 2017, an 83-70 victory by the Buckeyes in Columbus. The teams’ first meeting came in 1995, a 93-64 win by Ohio State. Maine is 0-2 all-time against Ohio State. The Black Bears are 0-1 this season against the Big Ten, a 67-59 setback in Portland, Maine to Indiana.
The Buckeyes won the Big Ten regular season with a 16-2 mark before losing to the No. 8 seed Maryland, 82-61, in the Big Ten quarterfinals.
The Black Bears earned the America East’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament after defeating Vermont, 64-48, to win their 10th conference title.
-UMaine-
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