The Buckeyes have work to do if they want to make the Big Dance.
Four. That’s the magic number of wins the Ohio State men’s basketball team (14-10, 6-7) needs to solidify its place in the NCAA Tournament. If they can’t get those four wins in the regular season, the Big Ten Tournament offers the opportunity for a little bit of extra credit.
The Buckeyes had the opportunity to knock that number down to three Sunday afternoon in Lincoln, but poor shot selection in the second half, paired with no presence on the glass whatsoever, sent them spiraling in the second half. Ohio State only scored nine points through the first 12 minutes of the season half, and it also took 12 minutes for someone other than Micah Parrish to score a point during the back 20.
Winning at Nebraska wasn’t a gimme win, however, as KenPom gave Ohio State less than a 50% chance to win that one. But beating Maryland just a few days prior, after losing to them by 674 points back in December, made a lot of folks think the Buckeyes were hitting a groove as they went to Nebraska. It turned out to be more of a speed bump.
Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
Before Sunday’s loss, most bracket models were plugging Ohio State in as a 9 or 10-seed. They were just starting to gain momentum and scoot off of the “bubble” but their 10th loss has pulled them back towards the chopping block.
Ohio State’s 14-10 record is not impressive — mathematically, the Buckeyes could still end up finishing below .500 and this entire talk could be irrelevant. However, they’re metrics darlings (NET, KenPom, etc.) because the Buckeyes have no bad losses and a few very impressive wins, headlined by a neutral floor win over Kentucky and a road win at Purdue. Those wins are holding up Ohio State’s 14-10 record like pool floaties on a toddler.
Currently the Buckeyes are No. 27 in both the NET and in KenPom’s rankings. They’re the only team in the top-40 of either of those metrics with double-digit losses.
With four home games left on the schedule, it’s pretty simple — win those four home games, and you’re in. Lose any of them, and you’ll need to make up for it by winning at UCLA, USC, or Indiana.
Here’s where 15 bracketologists have Ohio State plugged in, as of February 10. If you would like to see the full bracket, click on the name of the website.
131 Sports
Ohio State is a 10-seed facing 7-seed Mississippi State
Big Underdog
Ohio State is a 10-seed facing 7-seed Louisville
Bracket Odds
Ohio State is a 10-seed facing 7-seed Maryland
CBS
Ohio State is an 11-seed facing 6-seed Missouri
Charlie Hergenrother
Ohio State is an 11-seed facing 6-seed Memphis
HaslaMetrics
Ohio State is a 10-seed facing 7-seed Missouri
InCCStats
Ohio State is an 8-seed facing 9-seed New Mexico
Bracketeer/Rocco Miller
Ohio State is the first team left out of the NCAA Tournament
Bart Torvik
Ohio State is an 8-seed facing 9-seed New Mexico
JSB
Ohio State is a 9-seed facing 8-seed Baylor
The Barking Crow
Ohio State is a 9-seed facing 8-seed Memphis
Skarmory Bracketology
Ohio State is a 10-seed facing 7-seed Louisville
The Sporting News
Ohio State is a 9-seed facing 8-seed UCONN
Bracket Zac
Ohio State is a 10-seed facing 7-seed Missouri
4th and 24
Ohio State is a 9-seed facing 8-seed Oregon