Gene Smith ‘fine’ with unbalanced Big Ten basketball schedules
COLUMBUS, Ohio –– At third place in the Big Ten standings, Ohio State men’s basketball is still very much in contention for a regular season conference championship. However, the two teams ahead of the Buckeyes have each played fewer conference games; a fact that won’t likely change by season’s end.
In particular, Michigan –– the first-place team in the Big Ten standings –– has played just 10 conference games (9-1) to Ohio State’s 15 (11-4) while the Wolverines suffered a three-week midseason hiatus due to COVID-19.
On the gridiron, Ohio State was not penalized in the Big Ten title picture due to several game cancellations this past season, and athletic director Gene Smith said Thursday that he doesn’t think the Buckeyes’ opponents on the hardwood should be penalized either.
“When you think about teams that haven’t had the opportunity to play for a long period of time, that doesn’t mean that’s not a good basketball team,” Smith said on a joint Zoom call with NCAA senior vice president Dan Gavitt. “So you have to, at the end of the day, just be able to adjust.”
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The gap of games played is not quite as dramatic between the Buckeyes and second-place Illinois, which holds an 11-3 record through 14 league games. However, both the Fighting Illini and Wolverines are only scheduled to play five more games in the regular season; the same amount as Ohio State.
The Buckeyes already own a head-to-head win over Illinois this season, winning 87-81 on the road on Jan. 16. The two teams will square off again in what will be each of their final games of the regular season on March 6 in Columbus.
Ohio State will also get a toe-to-toe opportunity against Michigan at home this Sunday in what could be a chance to win an eighth-straight Big Ten game, should the Buckeyes come out on top against Penn State on Thursday.
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Those matchups won’t even out each team’s conference schedule, but Smith said he’s not perturbed if everything doesn’t come out exactly even.
“Even if we had designed balanced schedules, it would’ve ended up being unbalanced because of the postponements and cancellations,” Smith said. “So I’m fine with it, I’m just glad all of our kids in all of our schools have a chance to play.”
Smith acknowledged the uncertainty that each school is playing through at present, and much like he did during the football season, championed the ability for conference administrators to make decisions based on the specific circumstances at hand.
Even if, in this case, Ohio State will not receive the benefit.
“As we get towards the end of the season we’ll –– as ADs –– we may have to make different decisions around tiebreakers and things of that nature,” Smith said. “We’ll just have to adjust.”