Hardly ever does being a No. 10 seed seem like it’s been earned, but that might just be the case for this year’s Ohio State basketball team. That’s because just three weeks ago, the Buckeyes were sitting in 13th place and left for dead.
Enter interim head coach Jake Diebler, and OSU got off the ropes to win five of its last six and climb up the Big Ten standings and put itself in the unthinkable position of getting notice for the NCAA Tournament. That includes the latest win on the road vs. Rutgers on Sunday. Not even the most optimistic fan would have dreamed up that scenario with what was in front of the Buckeyes during the home stretch of the schedule.
And … now that all of the dust has settled on the regular season, we get a look at what the bracket looks like, and with it, the reality that Ohio State will be the No. 10 seed and actually receive a first round bye because it didn’t finish in the bottom four.
But who will OSU face on Thursday? None other than No. 7 seed Iowa, a team the Buckeyes lost to by just two points on the road before they found themselves again. Ohio State will then go on to face No. 2 seed Illinois on Friday if it wins that matchup. It might need to win that one as well to get into the NCAA tournament depending on what happens with other tournaments across the country.
The #B1GMBBT bracket is set. 🏀 pic.twitter.com/26VaSJB5cc
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 11, 2024
As they say though … “so you’re saying there’s a chance?”
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