The Ohio State Buckeyes are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014-15.
The Ohio State Buckeyes will look to continue their magical season with a run through the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Ohio St. faces Summit League champion South Dakota State in the second round on Thursday. Tip-off is for the West Region’s fifth-seeded Buckeyes’ game against the 12th-seeded Jackrabbits is 4 p.m. (ET) in Boise, Idaho, on March 15.
The Buckeyes, picked to finish 11th in the conference by the Big Ten coaches, started the season by winning their first four games. The Buckeyes then ran into a Gonzaga team that has an opportunity to reach the Final Four, losing 86-59 in the PK 80 matchup. The loss to the Bulldogs started a stretch of three losses to NCAA Tourney teams that included Butler and Clemson.
Ohio St. got back on track with an 83-59 victory over Wisconsin to start Big Ten play. The Buckeyes followed that win up with a 71-62 home victory over archrival Michigan. The Buckeyes had their five-game winning streak snapped by North Carolina right before Christmas in the CBS Sports Classic.
Ohio St. then rolled off eight straight wins, which included a victory over then No. 1 Michigan State in Columbus. The Buckeyes ended up winning 12 of 13 overall after the loss to UNC, putting their record at 22-5 overall and 13-1 in conference play. As a result, the Buckeyes were a fourth-seed in the NCAA’s first tournament reveal.
However, the Buckeyes closed the season losing three of five. Two of those losses were to Penn State, including a 69-68 setback in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. Ohio State (24-8, 15-3 Big Ten) finished the regular season ranked 17th in both the AP poll and USA Today Coaches poll.