Bracketology 2024: Bubble Watch Updates of key teams in early March

Ohio State (18-12) (NET: 59)
3-6 (Q1), 2-5 (Q2), 8-1 (Q3), 5-0 (Q4)

Ohio State fired Chris Holtmann three weeks ago and now are trying to sneak into the Tourney field led by interim coach Jake Diebler. After recent Sunday upsets against Purdue and Michigan State, the Buckeyes got two more wins last week against Nebraska and Michigan.

Those two big Sunday wins were both Quad 1 upsets. The Buckeyes also beat a really good Alabama team way back in November, though both teams were very different back then. Their Quad 2 wins have both come in the last month and include a decent performance against Maryland in early February.

The Quad 3 loss was near the end of the line for Holtmann, as the Buckeyes lost at home to Indiana just about a month ago. There are a slew of Quad 2 losses, most recently falling at Minnesota in Diebler’s second game as head coach.

Can the Buckeyes actually sneak into the Big Dance based off these last few weeks? Winning at Rutgers to finish the regular season would help punctuate that, though they’ll likely need to do some work in the Big Ten Tournament to finish the job.

Oklahoma (19-10) (NET: 41)
4-9 (Q1), 4-1 (Q2), 3-0 (Q3), 8-0 (Q4)

Perhaps considered more comfortable in the field in recent weeks, Oklahoma has now lost four of five and are trending in the wrong direction. That recent trend includes two missed opportunities, with losses to Iowa State and Houston last week.

They have taken advantage of other opportunities, as the Sooners currently claim four Quad 1 wins. Among that number is a really nice win over Iowa State from two months ago, a 16-point win over BYU in February, and a pair of road wins over Cincinnati and Kansas State.

Things aren’t going too poorly when the bad loss is at home to Texas Tech. That late January defeat is their only Quad 2 loss, though having nine Quad 1 losses is indicative of a lot of missed opportunities, especially during Big 12 play.

The Sooners have been underdogs in their last five games and it’s not a big shock to see this trend. They’ll get a chance to bounce back with games against Cincinnati and Texas to finish the regular season. Winning both could secure their place, while two more losses will put them on the edge of their seats in a few weeks.