Six Big Ten titles in a row would be enough for almost any school, but not Ohio State.

Since coach Jim Foster’s third season at OSU, his women’s basketball teams have consistantly won the Big Ten title, but often do not play well in the postseason. That is where the focus of the team currently lies.

“When I took the job at Ohio State I realized, unlike a lot of schools, there’s no Sweet 16 or Elite Eight … banners floating around,” Foster said. “It’s about championships. It’s about Big Ten championships, it’s about national championships. We’d like to be able to add one of them.”

The team clinched the Big Ten title faster than any men’s or women’s team ever has before, with four games still remaining.

Although it may seem as though the rest of the regular season is pointless, it will impact the Buckeyes tremendously in their postseason position.

“Obviously we have to take care of the games right now,” junior Sarah Schulze said. “We’re playing, but keeping in mind that the games right now affect where we will be in the tournament seeding.”

With so many Big Ten titles, most would assume that OSU has had great success in the NCAA Tournament, but this is not the case.

During their title streak, the Buckeyes have been knocked out of the first round twice, the second round once, and the Sweet 16 twice. By Foster’s standards, they have yet to have a successful postseason.

Senior Andrea Walker said that she wouldn’t give up her four Big Ten titles for a national championship because the team worked so hard to earn them, but she still said a national championship is the next step for the team.

This year’s club has the capability to go further into the NCAA Tournament than previous teams because of the substantial improvement at point guard.

“I definitely think [Samantha Prahalis is the missing piece],” Walker said. “The way that she can see the floor and how creative she is, she can pass it to anyone. I definitely think that was the missing piece of the puzzle. She’s helped us tremendously.”

Before the team can start worrying about the NCAA Tournament, it still needs to play three conference games and the Big Ten Tournament.

Next up for OSU is Wisconsin, who OSU has already beaten once this season. In that meeting on Dec. 6, OSU beat the Badgers 70-55 after a dominant second half performance.

A big difference between then and now is the growth of freshman Tayler Hill. She has been the answer to stifling defenses against Prahalis the last two games, scoring 14 and 13 points while shooting 62 percent from the floor.

“I think she’s taken that role pretty well,” junior Jantel Lavender said. “She’s just somebody who you can pass the ball up the floor to who can be explosive to the basket.”

After Thursday’s matchup with Wisconsin is a game against a very tough Michigan State team on Sunday. The Buckeyes only beat MSU by three last time out.

The next two games will greatly influence OSU’s positioning in the NCAA Tournament. If they hope to have their big run then, they need to have a big run now.