How and what to watch for No. 2 Texas vs. No. 6 Ohio State in Sweet 16 of 2022 NCAA Women’s Tournament

The 2022 Women’s NCAA tournament rolls on as the Sweet Sixteen begins to shape up. No. 2 Texas rolled to a dominant 78-56 victory over No. 7 Utah. And the No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes pulled a minor upset with an 79-64 win over Kim Mulkey’s LSU Tigers.

Once the odds from DraftKings Sportsbook are made available for this game, we’ll add that information below. We’ll also add the game time and TV channel once it’s settled.

Game date: Friday, March 25th
Game time: 7 p.m. ET
TV channel: ESPN2
Location: Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, Washington

No. 2 Texas 27-6 (13-5 Big 12) Automatic Bid

First Round: Defeated No. 15 Fairfield 70-52
Second Round: Defeated No. 7 Utah 78-56
Her Hoops Stats ratings: 8 Overall, 23 Offense, 8 Defense
Leading scorer: Guard Aliyah Matharu, 12.3 ppg
Key stat of tournament: They had an average margin of victory of 16.0 points in the regular season

The Longhorns could a huge boost off the bench from forward Aaliyah Moore. She had 21 points and five rebounds in relief for Texas. They shot lights out as they connected on 63.6% of their shots from the field. The Longhorns also showed off their defense as they forced 19 turnovers in the win.

No. 6 Ohio State 24-6 (14-4 Big Ten) At-Large

First Round: Defeated No. 11 Missouri State 63-56
Second Round: Defeated No. 3 LSU 79-64
Her Hoops Stats ratings: 27 Overall, 18 Offense, 45 Defense
Leading scorer: Jacy Sheldon, 19.7 ppg
Key stat of tournament: The Buckeyes shot 10-22 from three-point range in their win over LSU.

The Buckeyes went into Baton Rouge and came out with a trip to the Sweet 16 behind 23 points and eight assists by Sheldon. With a 43-36 rebounding advantage, OSU survived 20 turnovers but will have to be tighter with the ball to get past the Longhorns in Spokane.

Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook

Point spread: Texas -4.5
Point total: 137.5
Moneyline: Ohio State +170, Texas -200

The Pick

Against The Spread Pick: Texas -4.5
Point total pick: Over 137.5
Pick to Win: Texas

They always claim that defense wins championships and the Longhorns seem intent on testing that theory. They are only giving up 56.5 points per game and have the ninth-best defense in the NCAA according to HerHoopStats. Ohio State has picked up big wins to stay alive in this tournament, but they haven’t faced as fierce a defense as Texas is bringing to the table. Texas should head to the Elite Eight after picking up a win in this game.