The Buckeyes are back on the right side of the bubble…. for now.
A massive road win over Purdue Tuesday night appears to have the Ohio State men’s basketball team (11-8, 3-5) back on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble.
The Buckeyes entered the game as 9.5-point underdogs and fell behind by 13 at halftime. However, a 17-2 run to start the first half completely flipped the script as Ohio State took a slim lead. The team’s traded lengthy runs in the second half, but Ohio State’s 15-0 run in the final few minutes stood up, and the Buckeyes won, 73-70.
Before Tuesday night, Ohio State was not showing up in most brackets. Prior to the Purdue victory, just 23 of 74 online brackets had Ohio State in the field of 68, according to the Bracket Matrix. There are still a few that have Ohio State on the outside looking in despite the win at Mackey Arena, but most models have the Buckeyes somewhere between an 8 and 11-seed.
The margins are razor-thin right now for Ohio State, and history isn’t on its side, either.
Last season, Ohio State began the season 12-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play. The Buckeyes would go on to finish 20-13 overall, 9-11 in the Big Ten, and miss the tournament.
The year before that, Ohio State began the year 10-4 overall, 2-1 in the Big Ten. The team finished with an overall record of 16-19, a Big Ten record of 5-15, and (obviously) missed the tournament.
Ohio State’s resume is boosted heavily by its wins over Kentucky and Purdue, which is counteracting the eight losses. As of Thursday, Ohio State is No. 29 in the nation in KenPom and No. 30 in the NET. The Buckeyes will need to win a few more marquee games and reach the 8–10-win mark in the Big Ten to give themselves a chance to dance.
If Ohio State makes the NCAA Tournament, it would be the program’s first appearance since 2022.
Here’s where 15 “bracketologists” have the Buckeyes landing in the NCAA Tournament, as of January 23. These sites have all updated their predictions since Ohio State’s win over Purdue. If you want to check out the entire bracket for each source, just click on the name of the site, in bold:
FOX
Ohio State is a 9-seed, facing 8-seed West Virginia in the first round.
Sports Illustrated
Ohio State is a 10-seed, facing 7-seed Gonzaga in the first round.
Making the Madness
Ohio State is not in the NCAA Tournament and is not even considered to be on the bubble.
Haslametrics
Ohio State is an 11-seed, facing 11-seed Texas in a first-round play-in game.
BartTorvik
Ohio State is an 11-seed, facing 11-seed BYU in a first-round play-in game.
Rotowire
Ohio State is an 11-seed, facing 11-seed Vanderbilt in a first-round play-in game.
131 Sports
Ohio State is an 11-seed, facing 11-seed North Carolina in a first-round play-in game.
4th and 24
Ohio State is a 10-seed, facing 7-seed Utah State in the first round.
Heartbreak City
Ohio State is an 11-seed, facing 6-seed UCONN in the first round.
Mason Cox
Ohio State is not in the NCAA Tournament but is listed as the third team out of the tournament.
Big Underdog Bracketology
Ohio State is an 11-seed, facing 11-seed UC Irvine in a first-round play-in game.
Charlie Hergenrother Bracketology
Ohio State is an 11-seed, facing 6-seed West Virginia in the first round.
InCCStats
Ohio State is an 8-seed, facing 9-seed Clemson in the first round.
HoopsHD.com
Ohio State is an 11-seed, facing 11-seed Nebraska in a first-round play-in game.
Cracked Sidewalk Bracketology
Ohio State is a 9-seed, facing 8-seed Georgia in the first round.