The students could only wait so long.

After all, they had just witnessed No. 14 Ohio State defeat No. 5 Tennessee in the season opener for both teams. Not since 2008 had a team outside the top 5 started its season with an upset against a top-5 opponent.

Finally, security guards and stadium ushers stepped aside, and the Buckeye student section stormed the court, meeting their team to jump, cheer and capture the moment on iPhone videos.

Ohio State went from trailing by eight points at halftime and looking overmatched by the length and size of Tennessee to dominating the second half and securing an 87-75 victory over the Volunteers.

And though the win came in the first game of the season – far too early to determine overall success – Ohio State’s grit and intensity gave fans plenty to cheer about.

First Top-5 win for @OhioStateWBB since 2019. ✅

The 14-ranked Buckeyes take down No. 5 Tennessee on Tuesday night! pic.twitter.com/nk5mvag10v

— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) November 9, 2022

The Buckeyes put on a brilliant defensive performance. They pressed for most of the contest, with guards Jacy Sheldon and Taylor Mikesell providing pressure at the top, and forced Tennessee to commit 29 turnovers. That number is bad no matter how you look at it, but it gets worse when you consider Tennessee’s number of made field goals: 28. A game with more miscues than makes is rarely going to end in a victory.

Sheldon led the defensive effort with a career-high eight steals, while Emma Shumate came off the bench to provide rim protection, finishing with three blocks.

After advancing to the Sweet 16 last season, both squads have Final Four aspirations. The first game of the season isn’t indicative of late season success, but it provides a baseline for both squads.

Here’s what we learned from Ohio State’s historic victory.

Ohio State

The Buckeyes play a brand of defense that opponents will struggle with in the postseason.

Once Ohio State gets into Big Ten play, there will be squads that figure out how to beat it — but those are opponents who are familiar with Ohio State’s style and personnel. In the tournament, the Buckeyes likely will face unfamiliar opponents, and that works in their favor. The kind of high-intensity defense Ohio State plays is difficult to replicate in practice, and the real thing often catches teams off guard.

Early in the game, Ohio State struggled to finish around the rim (going 12-of-31), and even more so from beyond the arc (1-of-10), but they stayed within their offense and adjusted in the second half. Tennessee’s length and athleticism seemed to be an issue for Ohio State early, but once the Buckeyes got their defense working, the offense followed.

Sheldon and Mikesell will once again lead this team. Sheldon finished with 14 points and eight assists to go with her eight steals, and Mikesell led the team in scoring with 25 points (including four 3-pointers). But the Buckeyes also got an excellent showing from Rebeka Mikulášiková, who finished with 17 points and nine rebounds – a huge increase from 9.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game last season. Her improvement might be the difference between another Sweet 16 finish and a Final Four run.

Tennessee

Tennessee needs to hope that the 29 turnovers were a result of opening-game jitters and not a bigger issue. Because if the Vols don’t take better care of the ball, it will be a long season of disappointment.

Another issue was the foul trouble Tamari Key endured. The 6-foot-6 center provides an excellent target on offense and a rim protector on defense, but she can’t do either of those things if she plays 13 minutes, as she did Tuesday. Finding a way to keep her on the floor will be crucial going forward; otherwise, Tennessee’s size advantage is much easier to neutralize.

Two positives for Tennessee were the play of Jordan Horston and Jasmine Powell. Horston led her team with 20 points and 13 rebounds – though she did commit seven turnovers. But the most important part of Horston’s game was simply that she played. After injuries kept her out of the NCAA tournament, the Vols are celebrating her return.

Meanwhile, Powell, who made her debut after transferring from Minnesota, fit right into the Volunteer offense. She went 7-of-12 for 19 points, and when she got downhill, no one on Ohio State could stay in front of the guard. But like Horston and the rest of the Vols, she had turnover problems, with five miscues.

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

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Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

• No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.

• No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.