Believe it or not Ohio State basketball fans (and frustrated ones at that), there is still a decent, albeit outside shot at the Buckeyes finding their way into the NCAA Tournament. To be clear, we’re not saying that there’s a great chance, in fact, the chances are probably greater that OSU doesn’t get the nod vs. does, but things were in better shape on Saturday night than they were on Saturday morning.
A quick look at most “bracketologist” projections has Ohio State in the grouping of teams as the first four out. That’s a lot better than where things were before other teams on the bubble lost and fell back behind the Buckeyes as opposed to just in front. Teams like San Diego State, North Carolina, Texas, and Indiana all lost and have similar resumes to Ohio State’s and it’ll now all come down to what metrics the committee wants to put an emphasis on.
OSU’s strength of schedule should play well as the 19th toughest in the country according to the NET Rankings, and 17th according to Ken Pom. Ohio State also has better wins against Quad 1 competition than others on the bubble. Going against the Buckeyes? There are some pretty bad losses in there like the loss to Northwestern at home, the 40-point loss to Auburn, and the loss to Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament when everything was seemingly on the line.
Another thing that has played into Ohio State being in better shape than originally thought is the lack of bid-stealers this year (teams that go on a run and win their conference tournaments for an automatic bid despite not having a chance without it).
So, maybe, just maybe Selection Sunday will have glimmer of hope to it for those with a Scarlet and Gray wardrobe. The chances are still unlikely, but there’s a better chance than anyone thought when things were so glum on Wednesday night.
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