Buckeyes slide past perennial powers to take No. 1 seed.

Head coach Jim Foster (pictured left) says his team deserves the seed after 19 straight wins.

The Ohio State women's basketball team is getting a Number One seed in the 2006 NCAA tournament pairings in what might be a surprise to some.

Critics will point out that Ohio State is only Number Seven in the RPI index, and that the Big Ten is ranked as the nation's seventh-best conference.  In addition, the Buckeyes' strength of schedule is only 19th-best in the country.

But the Buckeyes are ranked Number Two in both the media and coaches polls and have won their last 19 games.

The tournament begins Sunday night in West Lafayette (Indiana).  Ohio State will play Oakland, which is 15-15.  Game time will be around 9:30.

Number 23 Bowling Green (28-2) also will play in the tournament, meeting UCLA (20-10) on Sunday afternoon in West Lafayette.