Ohio State's NCAA Tournament résumé, two weeks from Selection Sunday
Well, this probably wasn't the most convenient time for Ohio State to drop three consecutive games.
After losses to Michigan State and Iowa this week, Chris Holtmann and company are approaching red alert. The Buckeyes have fallen out of position for a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament and are quickly tumbling down the potential NCAA Tournament bracket.
With that being said, Ohio State still owns seven Quad 1 victories and has played one of the toughest schedules in recent memory over the past two weeks. Things aren't completely hopeless on the banks of the Olentangy.
With yet another top-10 matchup approaching to close the regular season, this team needs to find some positive momentum entering its multiple-week stay in Indianapolis.
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 college basketball.
Welcome to March.
Basic Info
Record: 18-7 (12-7 Big Ten), 10-3 home, 7-4 away, 1-0 neutral
AP Poll: No. 7
NET: No. 8
KenPom: No. 7
KenPom strength of schedule: No. 13
| Rank | Team | Big Ten | USA Today seed (thru 2/28) | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Michigan |
13-1 |
1 |
2 |
|
2 |
Illinois |
14-4 |
1 |
6 |
|
3 |
Iowa |
12-6 |
2 |
5 |
|
4 |
Purdue |
11-6 |
5 |
21 |
|
5 |
Ohio State |
12-7 |
2 |
8 |
|
6 |
Wisconsin |
10-8 |
7 |
24 |
|
7 |
Maryland |
9-9 |
11 |
29 |
|
8 |
Rutgers |
9-9 |
9 |
32 |
|
9 |
Indiana |
7-10 |
N/A |
57 |
|
10 |
Michigan State |
7-10 |
N/A |
77 |
|
11 |
Minnesota |
6-12 |
First 4 out |
69 |
|
12 |
Penn State |
5-12 |
N/A |
52 |
|
13 |
Northwestern |
4-13 |
N/A |
87 |
|
14 |
Nebraska |
2-14 |
N/A |
138 |
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 (7-5): Home vs. NET 1-30, Neutral vs. NET 1-50, Away vs. NET 1-75
Wins: UCLA (neutral), Rutgers (away), Illinois (away), Wisconsin (away), Iowa (away), Maryland (away), Penn State (away)
Losses: Purdue (away), Minnesota (away), Purdue (home), Michigan (home), Iowa (home)
Q2 (4-2): Home vs. NET 31-75, Neutral vs. NET 51-100, Away vs. NET 76-135
Wins: Notre Dame (away), Rutgers (home), Penn State (home), Indiana (home)
Losses: Northwestern (away), Michigan State (away)
Q3 (5-0): Home vs. NET 76-160, Neutral vs. NET 101-200, Away vs. NET 136-240
Wins: Morehead State (home), Cleveland State (home), Nebraska (home), Northwestern (home), Michigan State (home)
Q4 (2-0): Everything else
Wins: Illinois State (home), UMass-Lowell (home)
Note: Ohio State's away victory over Notre Dame was bumped down to a Q2 win, while the Buckeyes' home victory over Cleveland State was bumped up to a Q3 win.
Bracketology
Bracket Matrix: No. 1 seed (composite), 1.24 (average)*
USA Today: No. 2 seed (through 2/28)
CBS Sports: No. 2 seed (through 2/28)
NCAA.com: No. 2 seed (through 2/28)
*- most brackets haven't been updated to include Ohio State's loss to Iowa on Sunday.
The Outlook
It appears Ohio State's most likely destination is either a No. 2 or No. 3 seed, depending on how the Big Ten Tournament shakes out.
Climbing back up to the No. 1 line would almost certainly take an appearance in the conference title game, but even with a loss to Illinois next Saturday and a first or second-round exit in the league tournament, this team shouldn't fall further than a low No. 3 or high No. 4 seed.
Then again, we've officially entered March Madness.
Anything can happen.