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Throughout the Ohio State football season, we will be asking and answering questions about the team, the players, and anything else on our collective minds of varying degrees of importance. If you have a question that you would like to ask, you can tweet us @LandGrant33 or if you need more than 280 characters, send an email HERE.
It has been a wild few weeks for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams. As the flu ran through the men’s locker room, the team has seen its NCAA Tournament chances continue to fade (although not completely). The women were plagued by a string of games that saw them lose late-game, double-digit leads; and while they held on to win some of those contests, their status amongst the top teams in the sport has been called into question.
So, we wanted to check the temperature of Buckeye fans when it comes to how they are feeling about both of the hoops squads as we enter the final weeks of the regular season. In this week’s fan survey we gauge your feelings on the men’s team’s March Madness chances and whether or not the women will be on the top two lines come the NCAA Tournament.
Check out the questions below and make sure to complete the survey at the bottom of the page. Check back over the weekend for survey results.
Question 1: Will the Ohio State men’s basketball team make the NCAA Tournament?
Currently, most bracketologists have Jake Diebler’s team as one of the last teams still in the NCAA Tournament field. However, with games against USC (14-13), Nebraska (18-9), and Indiana (16-11) left on the regular season schedule, if they don’t win at least two of those, it would likely require a Herculean effort in the Big Ten Tournament to get them into the Big Dance.
The Buckeyes are in Southern California to take on the USC Trojans tonight at 10:30 p.m. ET. OSU is a road underdog for the ninth time this season, having gone 2-6 in the first eight games; the wins came at Purdue and Penn State.
While Ohio State is 4-3 all-time against the Men of Troy, they are 4-5 playing in the Pacific Time Zone over the last decade, with their most recent win coming in a neutral site win in Las Vegas over Texas earlier this season.
If the Bucks want to give themselves the best chance to make the tournament, they need to finish strong during the regular season, and a win tonight would go a long way.
Question 2: Will the Ohio State women’s basketball team be either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament?
Kevin McGuff’s team is currently ranked No. 12 in the country sporting an impressive 23-4 record. However, after suffering back-to-back West Coast losses to two of the best teams in the country — and new Big Ten additions — it would make sense to wonder about whether or not they are actually amongst the nation’s elite.
Earlier this month, the OSU women fell 65-52 at Pauley Pavilion to No. 2 UCLA and then three nights late 84-63 against No. 4 USC. Since then, the Buckeyes have responded with three wins in four games, but the first two wins (against Minnesota and Iowa) saw Ohio State give up substantial leads late in games.
The Bucks will wrap up the regular season with two ranked-vs.-ranked matchups, hosting No. 23 Michigan State tonight at 7 p.m. ET and traveling to College Park for the regular season finale on Sunday against No. 19 Maryland.
While how the team does in the B1G Tournament will play a huge part in determining their NCAA Tournament seeding, ending the regular season with a pair of ranked wins would almost certainly set them up to be either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the Big Dance.
Share your thoughts here:
Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Ohio State fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.