Ohio State's NCAA Tournament résumé, three weeks from Selection Sunday
With less than three weeks until its fate is decided by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, Ohio State is still sitting pretty.
As one would expect, losing to No. 3 Michigan by five points in one of the most well-played games of the college basketball season doesn't change much in terms of tournament expectations.
In fact, the Buckeyes' performance against a hot-shooting Wolverine team may have actually strengthened their outlook heading into March.
Still, rematches with Iowa and Illinois to end Big Ten play loom as Chris Holtmann and company cling to the final No. 1 seed in the field of 68.
Following the format of our friends at GoldandBlack.com, let's review Ohio State's tournament résumé as we inch towards one of the strangest postseasons in the history of March Madness.
Basic Info
Record: 18-5 (12-5 Big Ten), 10-2 home, 7-3 away, 1-0 neutral
AP Poll: No. 4
Coaches Poll: No. 5
NET: No. 7
KenPom: No. 7
KenPom strength of schedule: No. 12
| Rank | Team | Big Ten | Bracket Matrix Avg. Seed | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Michigan |
11-1 |
1.01 |
3 |
|
2 |
Illinois |
12-3 |
1.99 |
4 |
|
3 |
Ohio State |
12-5 |
1.08 |
7 |
|
4 |
Iowa |
11-5 |
2.61 |
5 |
|
5 |
Purdue |
10-6 |
6.08 |
28 |
|
6 |
Wisconsin |
10-7 |
5.72 |
20 |
|
7 |
Rutgers |
8-9 |
7.04 |
31 |
|
8 |
Maryland |
8-9 |
11.04 |
30 |
|
9 |
Indiana |
7-8 |
10.57 |
52 |
|
10 |
Minnesota |
6-10 |
10.80 |
60 |
|
11 |
Michigan State |
5-9 |
N/A |
81 |
|
12 |
Penn State |
4-11 |
N/A |
40 |
|
13 |
Northwestern |
3-13 |
N/A |
98 |
|
14 |
Nebraska |
1-12 |
N/A |
146 |
Quadrant Wins/Losses
Quadrants are used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee to determine how impressive a team's slate of wins is. They're based on the committee's NET rankings. Here, Ohio State's quadrant record appears in parentheses next to the definition of said quadrant.
Q1 (8-4): Home vs. NET 1-30, Neutral vs. NET 1-50, Away vs. NET 1-75
Wins: Notre Dame (away), UCLA (neutral), Rutgers (away), Illinois (away), Wisconsin (away), Iowa (away), Maryland (away), Penn State (away)
Losses: Purdue (away), Minnesota (away), Purdue (home), Michigan (home)
Q2 (3-1): Home vs. NET 31-75, Neutral vs. NET 51-100, Away vs. NET 76-135
Wins: Penn State (home), Indiana (home), Rutgers (home)
Losses: Northwestern (away)
Q3 (4-0): Home vs. NET 76-160, Neutral vs. NET 101-200, Away vs. NET 136-240
Wins: Morehead State (home), Nebraska (home), Northwestern (home), Michigan State (home)
Q4 (3-0): Everything elseWins: Illinois State (home), UMass-Lowell (home), Cleveland State (home)
Note: Thursday's win at Penn State was added to the list of Q1 wins, but Rutgers fell to No. 31 in the NET rankings, meaning Ohio State's home win over the Scarlet Knights was bumped down to a Q2 win.
Bracketology
Bracket Matrix: No. 1 seed (composite), 1.08 (average)
ESPN: No. 1 seed (through 2/19)
CBS Sports: No. 1 seed (through 2/21)
NCAA.com: No. 1 seed (through 2/21)
The Outlook
Things are still rolling for Ohio State. Most brackets kept the Buckeyes among their top four teams, even with a loss to Michigan on Sunday.
It looks like this team's fate will come down to its final two games: home contests versus Iowa and Illinois, both of which are fighting Ohio State for the final No. 1 seed.
If the Buckeyes can end the regular season 2-1, they'll enter the Big Ten Tournament in a very comfortable position.
Even if Ohio State dropped three straight to end the regular season and bowed out in the first round of the conference tournament, it would likely still be locked into a No. 4 seed at the very worst.