The Buckeyes have one game left on the schedule against ranked teams.
Hoo boy, how about that Maryland game? After trailing by 17 points at one point, Ohio State crawled back slowly over the next 30 minutes, taking the lead with two minutes left and hanging on to improve to 6-6 in Big Ten play.
As Kaleb Wesson once said, “There’s no easy wins in the Ten.” But with that said, Ohio State only has one ranked team remaining on its schedule — Roddy Gayle and the Wolverines on Feb. 16. They have four home games and four road games. Realistically speaking, the Buckeyes need to go 3-5 over the final eight to give themselves a chance to make the tournament, or 4-4 (or better) to make the tournament.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated what (or who) was the most impressive during Ohio State’s three-game winning streak when they beat Purdue, Iowa, and Penn State. Justin said it was Micah Parrish, who averaged just north of 17 points per game during that winning streak. Connor did not pick a player — instead, he said it was the fact that Ohio State was the team to throw the last punch in all three games.
With 40% of the votes, Justin won. 36% said it was something or someone else, and the remaining 24% sided with Connor.
After 190 weeks:
Connor- 85
Justin- 80
Other- 19
(There have been six ties)
As stated above, Ohio State has eight games left on the regular season schedule, and then they will have an opportunity for some extra credit in the Big Ten Tournament. Four games at home, and four on the road.
With the very arbitrary mark of 5.5 wins, Connor and Justin are both picking whether they think Ohio State will do better or worse than that over/under.
This week’s question: How will Ohio State fare over its final eight games of the season?
Connor: Over
Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
Jake Diebler’s been saying that he’s got a resilient bunch of guys in that locker room. He’s also been saying (since August) that the team is a work in progress, and the goal is to be playing their best basketball in February and March.
The first statement looks to be true. The second is still a question mark, but it’s starting to look like that might be true, too.
The Buckeyes have the NCAA Tournament within their grasp now after Thursday’s win over Maryland. That makes it four ranked wins this season and five Quad-1 wins. The schedule looks like it might be softening a little bit down the stretch, although a nearly weeklong west coast road trip won’t be easy on the body or the mind.
Based on current NET rankings, here’s how Ohio State’s last eight games break down:
- At Nebraska – Quad-1
- Vs Washington – Quad-3
- Vs Michigan – Quad-1
- Vs Northwestern – Quad-2
- At UCLA – Quad-1
- At USC – Quad-1
- Vs Nebraska – Quad-2
- At Indiana – Quad-1
Playing the Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena will be tough, but the Maryland win makes me think Ohio State can win that one on the road. If Ohio State is serious about the NCAA Tournament, the Washington game has to be a given, too.
Michigan has been the better team this season, but fans have had this game circled on their calendars since the day Roddy Gayle transferred to Michigan. I think that game, nationally televised on a Sunday, will be nearly a sellout and Ohio State will beat Michigan. Let’s go ahead and throw in Northwestern too, since they’re now going to be without their best player for the rest of the season.
The flight out west will stink, and UCLA is a solid team. Ohio State splits the road trip by losing to the Bruins but beating the Trojans.
I’ll give Ohio State a win at home against Nebraska on senior day, but will give the season finale to the Hoosiers. Indiana has stunk this entire season, but they did beat Ohio State in Columbus and I remain firm in my belief that winning at Assembly Hall is not easy, even when IU is not good. Especially if Mike Woodson is “retiring” after the season, the fans will wrap their arms around Woodson, even if they’re upset about this season.
So overall, that leaves us at 6-2. OVER!
Justin: Under
The magic number for Ohio State to make the NCAA Tournament is four. If they finish the season 18-13 and 10-10 in conference with wins over Purdue, Kentucky, and Maryland plus with the faith the metrics have in the Buckeyes, they will make the tournament.
And that is exactly what I think they will do. I think they will win four and lose four.
Wins:
- At Nebraska
- Vs. Washington
- Vs. Northwestern
- Vs. Nebraska
Losses:
- Vs. Michigan
- At. UCLA
- At. USC
- At. Indiana
Michigan is a bad matchup with the twin towers of Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf. UCLA and USC are West Coast matchups that are going to be tough, and both teams are playing well. Even though Indiana is in shambles, I think Assembly Hall will still be tough to play at since it is their senior day and a Saturday afternoon game.