Ohio State's season is in a steep collapse. But the Buckeyes are still going dancing.
Despite losing four of their last five games, and despite leaving the Big Ten tournament without a win for the first time since 2018, the Buckeyes (19-11, 12-8 Big Ten) will be a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Ohio State is off to Pittsburgh to take on No. 10 Loyola Chicago in the first round on Friday with the winner to face either No. 2 Villanova or No. 15 Delaware on Sunday.
Since taking over the program in 2017-18, head coach Chris Holtmann has led the Buckeyes to five straight NCAA Tournament appearances, winning only two of their five games with the 2020 Tournament canceled due to COVID-19.
Heading into the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament, Ohio State will be looking to change its narrative.
Coming into the 2021 tournament as a No. 2 seed, the Buckeyes were stunned in the first round by No. 15 Oral Roberts, losing 75-72 in overtime in West Lafayette, Indiana.
For the majority of the 2021-22 season, Ohio State seemed to be on a path to following up that upset with a high seed once again, heading into the final week of the regular season with a chance to earn a share of the regular season Big Ten title, having not lost back-to-back games all season along with earning big wins against then-No. 1 Duke and Wisconsin.
However, falling victim to a condensed schedule, playing 11 games in the span of a month due to postponed games because of COVID-19 and weather delays, the Buckeyes lost four of their final five games, including a 15-point loss at Maryland, an eight-point loss at home against Nebraska, a six-point loss to Michigan on Senior Day and a three-point loss to Penn State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Ohio State will be led by junior forward E.J. Liddell, an All-Big Ten first-team and defensive-team member, who's averaging 19.6 points per game, shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 37.6 percent on 3-pointers.
The Buckeyes will also have Big Ten Freshman of the Year Malaki Branham, who's averaging 13.3 points per game shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 42.5 percent from 3.
Branham and Liddell combine for nearly 23 of Ohio State's 55 field goal attempts per game.
The Buckeyes finished their Big Ten season averaging 72,8 points per game, shooting 46.6 percent from the field — third-best in the conference. Ohio State also leads the conference with 4.6 blocks, but holds a plus-2.2 advantage on the boards.
