COLUMBUS, Ohio - The individual awards favor Ohio State. Mississippi State is fine with that.

When the two teams meet in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Monday night, there's no question which team has the most star power. The game is set for a 6:07 p.m. CT tip Monday on ESPN2 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

The 10th-ranked and third-seeded Buckeyes have two-time Big Ten player of the year Jantel Lavender, who has led the conference in scoring and rebounding her freshman and sophomore seasons. They also have the Big Ten's best defensive player (Shavelle Little) and freshman (Samantha Prahalis). Star Allen was a third-team all-conference choice.

The unranked and 11th-seeded Lady Bulldogs have no problem being somewhat anonymous.

"That's the best thing to have, not like star players but like a team," reserve forward Donnisha Tate said Sunday. "You go farther as teams than just individual players. That's what we drive on, being a team."

Mississippi State (23-9) has been lurking underneath the attention of a lot of people this year. The Lady Bulldogs finished sixth in the Southeastern Conference, then drew sixth-seeded Texas in the first round of the NCAA tournament. They dispatched the Longhorns 71-63 by hitting 21 of 22 free throws while their tenacious defense forced Texas into 20 turnovers and 31-percent shooting from the field.

Defense doesn't steal a lot of headlines. Again, the Lady Bulldogs don't seem to mind.

"We want the pressure and I think that's what's gotten us here," coach Sharon Fanning said. "A philosophy of ours is do what we do and then try to do it the very best we possibly can."

Alexis Rack certainly followed that credo, hitting just three of 11 shots from the field but all 13 of her free throw attempts while totaling 20 points against Texas. Starting with 1:24 left — and with her team gripping a 61-59 lead — she was fouled on four consecutive Mississippi State possessions over a span of 56 seconds. She made all eight.

"I didn't really feel any pressure," she said with a smile.

That appears to be the case pretty much up and down the roster for the Lady Bulldogs. Rack, the lone acclaimed MSU player as a first-team All-SEC choice, leads the way with 14.6 points a game. The two other players in double figures — Armelie Lumanu and Chanel Mokango — are both natives of Kinshasa, Congo, who are transfers from Southeastern Illinois College.

Ohio State coach Jim Foster said if some of the Lady Bulldogs aren't well known, it's because they're new on campus rather than due to them not having the chops to earn a truckload of awards.

"I just don't think people are used to them," he said. "You have the junior-college transfers sort of enter into your frame of reference the way freshmen do and it takes you a little bit longer to honor such folks."

Mississippi State will go nine players deep and rely on a scrambling, physical, momentum-destroying defense to rattle the Buckeyes' star players.

"Tomorrow, like today in practice, I do defense," said the 6-foot-5 Mokango, who will match up with the 6-4 Lavender. "I play some that are bigger and stronger than me, and they're faster, but I try my best to play my game."

Playing before a partisan crowd on their home court — which was transported 3 miles downtown to Nationwide Arena for the NCAA tournament — the Buckeyes pulled away from Sacred Heart to win 77-63 in Saturday's first round.

Prahalis had a career-high 23 points and seven assists, Lavender added 19 points and 10 rebounds and the Buckeyes ran the floor with abandon. They know that Mississippi State will try to put the clamps on their transition game.

"(They're) long, athletic, they can get to the rim, good defense," was the way senior guard Ashlee Trebilcock described what Ohio State will face.

The Buckeyes finished strong against Sacred Heart but played in fits and starts before sprinting away in the last 10 minutes.

"Because we had had two weeks off, it was kind of getting back into the game flow," Lavender said. "It will be better tomorrow. We'll be a lot more cohesive as a unit."

Lavender comes in shooting 54 percent while averaging 21 points and 11 rebounds a game. Muffle her and you'll likely slow the Buckeyes.

To do that, the Lady Bulldogs know they need to do the dirty work.

"As long as we keep being a team and communicating, play good team defense, and keep the team No. 1, I feel like we can go real far in the NCAA tournament," Tate said.