Tag: Big Ten Basketball Tournament

Ohio State will be the No. 10 seed for the Big Ten Tournament

How far do you think this refreshed Ohio State team can make it in the Big Ten Tournament? #GoBucks

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.

As they say thoughĀ  … “so you’re saying there’s a chance?”

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Ohio State basketballā€™s Bruce Thornton gets conference tournament recognition

Bruuuuuuuce!!! #GoBucks

The [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] basketball team had run not many expected in the [autotag]Big Ten Tournament[/autotag]. They became the lowest seed, No. 13, to ever make it to the conference semifinals.

On the way to the fourth day of the tournament, Buckeye guard [autotag]Bruce Thornton[/autotag] was phenomenal. He averaged 15.5 points, with 4.25 assists and 2.75 rebounds over the course of four games, and turned the ball over just four total times, none over the final three games. The freshman was the best player on the court for Ohio State and the Big Ten noticed.

The conference named Thornton to their all-tournament team, making him just the 10th freshman ever to be named to the team. The distinction makes it four for Ohio State, as Thornton joins [autotag]Greg Oden[/autotag], [autotag]Mike Conley[/autotag] and [autotag]Jared Sullinger[/autotag]. Thatā€™s quite an impressive list of Buckeyes.

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The Georgia native really came on late in the season, being named a captain, upping his offensive game and this was the cherry on top. Expectations for Thornton rose significantly as the year went on and he is expected to lead the squad next year in what should be a much more prosperous season.

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WATCH: Tom Izzo praises Ohio State and job Chris Holtmann has done, is a ‘fun team to watch’

Tom Izzo is a big Chris Holtmann believer. #GoBucks

Ohio State is putting the world on notice that it isn’t dead. There’s still a long way to go for the Buckeyes to knock the door down but after beating Michigan State in a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal, there’s now a chance to make an even bigger statement against Purdue on Saturday.

The Buckeyes have improved greatly over the last couple of weeks, and we’re now seeing the fruits of the laborious process of bringing a young team along. Head coach Chris Holtmann has taken a lot of heat this season with the disappointing season, but things look much brighter for the future after what we’ve all witnessed during this late-season run.

You can consider Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo as a believer in what Holtmann has done and said that and more in his postgame press conference after the loss to the Buckeyes Friday. He originally came to the defense of Holtmann after the bad loss in an even worse stretch in Columbus, and he spent some considerable time doubling down on that after the game Friday.

In case you missed any of it, his comments are entertaining, insightful, and a little rebellious. Check out everything he and the Michigan State players said about Ohio State after the game thanks to the Spartan Mag YouTube channel.

Ohio State will now try to keep things rolling, but it’ll be even tougher against No. 1 seed Purdue on Saturday afternoon.

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Ohio State takes decisive lead into halftime over Michigan State

Twenty minutes to go to move on in the Big Ten Tournament! Can OSU close it out?

Well, why not keep on going? The Ohio State basketball team is a far different team than it was just a few weeks ago and has the No. 4 Michigan State team on the ropes in the Big Ten Tournament up 33-24 at halftime in Chicago.

To make things even more surprising and unexpected, Ohio State is doing it without leading scorer, freshman sensation, Brice Sensabaugh who was held out of the game as he’s evaluated for “knee soreness.”

And while there have been some good moments on the offensive end, the Buckeyes are winning this game because of their ability to dictate the pace, get back on defense, and play solid half-court defense. Michigan State is shooting just 31.0% from the field and has made just 1-of-9 three-point attempts.

Meanwhile, Ohio State has shot the ball well, making 14-of-27 (51.9%) shots from the field, including 5-of-9 from deep. Justice Sueing and Bruce Thorton lead the Buckeyes in scoring with 8 points each. OSU has just three turnovers and nine assists in the game.

All of that is fine and good, but you can expect Michigan State to push the pace and make a run in the second half. Ohio State will need to continue to limit possessions and play solid, team-defense to pull this one out.

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Ohio State knocks off Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament

A big upset by the Buckeyes! #GoBucks

Before the Big Ten Tournament started play this week, the Ohio State basketball team seemed to be getting its act together. Many analysts started saying the Buckeyes might be a team nobody wants to play, to which Buckeye fans rolled their eyes. But now, after two-straight wins in the Big Ten Tournament, including a 73-69 win over Iowa on Thursday, it seems many of those comments were a least a little correct.

Losers of nine straight at one point, OSU found a little something at the end of the regular season, winning two of its last three, and has seemingly carried it over into the postseason.

You never know what will trigger a team so buried in despair to come out of it, but that seems to be where Ohio State is now. The Buckeyes looked more poised on the offensive end, more energetic on the defensive end, and even closed out a gain (gasp!) against the No. 5 seeded Hawkeyes on Wednesday to spring the biggest upset of the Big Ten Tournament to date this year. OSU became just the third 13-seed to advance to the quarterfinals in tournament history.

It wasn’t easy though — these things never really are. There were a ton of lead changes, a slew of momentum swings, and a few more scrapes and floor burns in this one before it was decided. In fact, neither team ever got more than six points removed from the other.

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The Buckeyes started out down by a couple of buckets early but were able to grab the lead and head into halftime up by two points. It was much of the same in the second half. The teams see-sawed with the lead throughout much of the second half, but Justice Sueing hit perhaps the biggest shot of the game with the shot clock running down when he nailed a scrambling three-pointer to put OSU up by four points with just under two minutes left for at least a little breathing room late.

From there, it was a little uneasy with some Iowa pressure and struggles handling the ball, but Ohio State was able to hit its free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Bruce Thorton led the Buckeyes with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting. More importantly, he displayed a veteran presence with the ball, committing just two of OSU’s eight turnovers. Brice Sensabaugh (16 points). Justice Sueing (14 points), and Sean McNeil (13 points) also finished in double figures. Roddy Gayle, Jr. added nine big points in the second half off the bench in some very key spots.

With the win, Ohio State will now move on to the quarterfinals and face No. 4 seed Michigan State. At this point, why not just keep going?

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Photos of Ohio State basketball’s win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament

Enjoy some pretty cool photos from Ohio State’s victory over Wisconsin on Wednesday in the Big Ten Tournament. #GoBucks

Don’t look now, but the Ohio State basketball team is starting to find the form it had earlier in the year. And while a run through the Big Ten Tournament is unlikely to steal a bid to the NCAA Tournament, there are at least some positive signs to build upon as we look ahead to next season.

The Buckeyes raced out to a commanding lead and held on for a 65-57 victory after a furious comeback rally by Wisconsin in a first-round game on Wednesday.

Ohio State came out with a lot of energy and fire and it resulted in some pretty impressive moments that were captured in high-resolution photos by some of our photographers at the game.

Here are some of the best images of Ohio State basketball vs. Wisconsin from the first round Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday.

2023 Big Ten Basketball Tournament bracket

How many games will Ohio State win in the Big Ten Tournament? #GoBucks

The 2022-2023 Big Ten basketball regular season is complete. While it was a total dud for Ohio State, the competition and depth of talent may have never been better — at least for parity’s sake.

Now, everyone will turn their eyes to the conference tournament, which should be wildly entertaining and unpredictable. Purdue will be the No. 1 seed by virtue of its regular-season conference crown, but it’s literally anyone’s guess which teams advance.

In OSU’s case, as the No. 13 seed, it’ll get its tournament going early. Its first game set for Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET vs. 12th-seeded Wisconsin. The winner of that game will take on 5th-seeded Iowa the following day and faces the uphill battle of trying to win five games in five days. Winning the Big Ten Tournament is the only way the Buckeyes or the Badgers make the big dance.

Good luck with that.

Here’s the rest of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament bracket for you to plan out the end of the week.

Here’s hoping Ohio State finds a little magic and goes on an historic run in Chicago. This is probably where we tell you to not hold your breath, but you get the idea. We’ll be rooting anyway.

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What the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament bracket would like like if the season ended today

Ohio State has some work to do. Here is how the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament bracket looks like heading into the final weekend.

We’re heading into our final weekend of Big Ten basketball games and there are still some things up in the air.Ā Michigan clinched the regular-seasonĀ conference championship Thursday night with a win over arch-rival Michigan State, as well as the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament, but there are still plenty of seeding positions up in the air.

As things stand though, if the season were to end today, Michigan (No. 1), Illinois (No. 2), Iowa (No. 3), and Purdue (No. 4) would all get the double-bye as the top four seeds. Ohio State would have to play on Thursday as the No. 5 seed.

Here is how the rest of the bracket would look with seeds three through five still to be determined.

No matter how this thing shakes out, it should be one whale of a tournament from the deepest and most talented league in the country.

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Ohio State basketball NCAA Tournament History

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Big Ten to allow some capacity for men’s basketball tournament

The Big Ten announced on Thursday that it will allow limited capacity for the men’s basketball tournament that is set for March 10-14.

Ohio State and Big Ten basketball fans weren’t able to watch games in each school’s individual arena this year, but they’ll get a chance to get their hands on tickets for the conference’s basketball tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

the Big Ten announcedĀ a maximum capacity of 8,000 fans in attendance for the tournament that is set to take place from March 10-14, with the following all-sessions pricing schedule:

  • $210 for 500/600 level seats
  • $290 for 300/400 level seats
  • $400Ā for 100/200 level seats

It must be noted that Lucas Oil Stadium has its own set of COVID-19 health and safety protocols that fans should be familiar with if they plan on attending any of the games.

We do not know yet when Ohio State will be playing its first game. If must finish in the top four of the league to receive a first-round bye. As it stands currently, the Buckeyes sit in fifth place, just behind Purdue. OSU would need more to happen than simply win vs. Illinois this weekend to clinch a top-four seed.

Further details on tickets can be found on the Big Ten’s website.

Big Ten considering moving mens’ conference basketball tournament from Chicago to Indianapolis

According to Jon Rothstein, the Big Ten is considering moving the men’s conference basketball tournament to Indianapolis from Chicago.

Indianapolis, Indiana just might be the center of the basketball universe in March.

We’ve already received the news that the NCAA Tournament (in whatever form it takes) will be played in venues in and around the Indianapolis area, and now it appears as though the Big Ten is seriously considering moving the men’s conference basketball tournament from Chicago to Indianapolis as well, just a short week before all the national madness begins.

This comesĀ by way of NCAA basketball insider Jon Rothstein who is usually pretty close to these things. The thought is that the state of Indiana’s coronavirus measures are a bit more conducive to allowing some level of fan viewership onsite than what Illinois has, and will most likely have come March.

Honestly, as an Ohio State fan, this move would probably be welcomed by head coach Chris Holtmann, players, and fans alike. The travel is closer and could involve a bus trip instead of a flight. And, for those fans that can afford the money and time, Indy is but a three-hour drive away.

It must be noted that no official announcement or decision has been made yet, but we’ll keep an eye on things as the situation dictates.