When the CBS Sports Classic was first announced as a three-year run from 2014 through 2016, many asked which of these things don’t belong. The deal with the whole event was to pit some of the most dominant programs in college basketball history against one another in a round robin, three-year tournament.
But many asked why Ohio State was put among blue bloods Kentucky, UCLA, and North Carolina. I mean, the Buckeyes are a football school right, and lack the pedigree of those three dominant programs?
Well, yes, and no.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll continue to say it until we’re blue (but not Carolina or Kentucky blue) in the face. If it weren’t for football, Ohio State might be known as a basketball school.
The Buckeyes only have one national title to their credit, but they have as many Big Ten championships as any team in the conference when adding together regular season and Big Ten Tournament titles. Ohio Sate is also tied for sixth in Final Fours in the history of the sport, and have a slew of NCAA appearances and wins — even some national players of the year to boast about.
So, it should be no surprise then that Ohio State backed up that history with a respectable showing against those three other schools after the CBS Sports Classic was extended to six years, the last of which just ended this past weekend.
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Ohio State beats Kentucky: 3 Things we learned https://t.co/NE3OJuvLSm
— Buckeyes Wire (@BuckeyesWire) December 22, 2019
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It was an up and down affair to be sure over that time, but with the win over Kentucky on Saturday, OSU finished with a 3-3 record, second only to North Carolina who went 4-2. The Wildcats tied Ohio State with a 3-3 record, while UCLA had the worst showing of the four schools with a 2-4 record over the six years.
Here’s how the Buckeyes fared against each:
Kentucky: OSU went 2-0 (wins in 2015 and 2019)
UCLA: OSU went 1-1 (lost in 2016, won in 2018)
North Carolina: OSU went 0-2 (lost in 2014 and 2017)
And what about Chris Holtmann? He’s done well for himself going 2-1, with the lone loss coming to North Carolina in 2017.
There’s been no news about extending the event for another three years, but it sure was a fun tournament to showcase Ohio State over the last six years. We’ll have to see if CBS liked it enough, and if the four programs believe it fits into their scheduling philosophy going forward.
Not bad for a football school eh?