The Ohio State field hockey team has hit its stride at just the right time.

Finishing out the regular season on a four-game win streak, the No. 17 Buckeyes (12-6, 3-3 Big Ten) travel to Bloomington, Ind. Thursday for the Big Ten tournament. As the No. 5 seed in the Big Ten, the Bucks draw a first round match-up with the fourth-seeded University of Michigan.

The Wolverines have been a bit unpredictable this season. With an underwhelming overall record of 8-11, Michigan has had big wins in the conference against Michigan State (No. 2 in the conference) and Ohio State.

This year’s tournament gives the Buckeyes a chance to turn around their recent post-season struggles. In the Big Ten tournament’s 14 years of existence, Ohio State has an overall record of 13-13 and has only made the final once, in 2001, the year they won the title. Since that year, OSU has a 4-6 record in the tournament.

The path to the finals won’t be an easy one. A slow start to the conference schedule has dropped OSU into an unfavorable position. The team had a strong start to their regular season – 7-3 before conference play – but stumbled in their first three conference games going 0-3. The Bucks would fight back to a 3-3 Big Ten record, but it puts them in a potentially precarious situation.

The road to the finals might run through all three teams that defeated the Buckeyes in conference play this season. If the Buckeyes manage to get by Michigan, they will have a second round match-up against No. 1 seed Penn State. PSU took a close one from the Bucks this year, winning 1-0, and have shown to be the class of the conference with a 5-1 Big Ten record.

Although the finals will not be determined until the first and second rounds are played, the No. 2 seeded Spartans are on the opposite side of the bracket as OSU, setting up a potential finals opponent. Michigan State handed the Buckeyes their first conference loss in September with a 3-1 Spartan victory.

Ohio State won’t overlook its first-round opponent, however. The last time the Buckeyes lost a game was Oct. 5 against Michigan, a 3-2 defeat.

The first round for Ohio State starts at 12:15 p.m. The second round will be on Friday and the championship game will be played on Sunday starting a noon.

Kyle Fischer can be reached at [email protected].