Just a couple of hours away from the NCAA Tournament brackets being unveiled, Ohio State is in danger territory as one of the last teams into the Tournament according to Jerry Palm of CBS Sports. He has the scarlet and gray going to Dayton as a No. 11 seed to play in the “first-four.” A win from there would then result in a slotting on the No. 11 line against a No. 6 seed. Things are a little less troublesome over at ESPN. Joe Lunardi has the Buckeyes comfortably in as a No. 11 seed, but not in the first four — meaning they would get out of playing in Dayton and straight into the bracket against a No. 6 seed. Oregon beating Washington big late in the Pac-12 tourney is not good news for teams on the bubble, including Ohio State. My bracketology days are long behind me, but I think OSU is in, but quite possibly as a first-four team in Dayton. — Bill Rabinowitz (@brdispatch) March 17, 2019 With either one of those scenarios, the options of where Ohio State goes to play are fairly limited. We broke that down a little earlier today. At this point, we believe it’s a No. 11 seed or out of the NCAA and into the NIT. The win over Indiana was thought to be enough to punch OSU’s ticket — and it may still be — but some unforeseen tournament upsets have taken additional spots away and put the Buckeyes chances now in a precarious position. So while Buckeye fans were able to breathe a little easier after the big win against the Hoosiers, there’s now at least a little nervous energy as the selection committee gets ready to make its choices. Stay with us for reaction to the brackets as we have them.<doc-sep>Friday's game against Michigan State did not go as the Buckeyes hoped, but the loss is unlikely to keep them out of the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State entered the Big Ten Tournament matchup with the Spartans as a near-consensus NCAA Tournament team after Thursday afternoon's win over Indiana. The Buckeyes found themselves in 112 of the 117 bracket projections sampled on bracketmatrix.com, with an average seed of 11.16. Even with the loss, that's unlikely to change drastically given that many of the teams Ohio State would have to fall behind in order to miss the NCAA Tournament lost either on Thursday or earlier and could not improve their resume any further. Here's a look at the bubble situation entering Friday's games from ESPN's Joe Lunardi: St. John's, NC State, TCU, Belmont, Texas, Indiana and Clemson all lost before Friday and can't improve their resume anymore. Ohio State's loss in an extra game to a top-10 opponent isn't likely to move the Buckeyes out of the tournament field behind those teams, even if it wasn't an especially close game down the stretch. Unexpected conference tournament winners could complicate the situation a bit, such as Rhode Island eliminating top-seeded VCU from the Atlantic 10 Tournament and forcing the Rams into an at-large slot, but it's unlikely that happens enough to eliminate Ohio State from the field entirely. Based on the projections, the likely worst-case scenario for Ohio State is a play-in game in the First Four, but the Buckeyes seem well positioned to avoid that as well.<doc-sep>Ohio State has made its case. With the 77-70 loss to Michigan State in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday afternoon, the Buckeyes' résumé is now complete. The Scarlet and Gray finished the year 19-14 overall and 8-12 in the Big Ten with one win in the conference tournament. Is that enough to get into the NCAA Tournament? Chris Holtmann thinks so. "I feel good about it," the head coach said of what Ohio State will present to the tournament selection committee. "Who knows what’s going to happen but I feel like our body of work has positioned us very, very well." The Buckeyes have four quadrant-1 wins and only one quadrant-3 loss. With sophomore center Kaleb Wesson in the lineup, the Scarlet and Gray defeated then-No. 22 Iowa by 20 points and looked very good in a victory against Indiana on Thursday. Holtmann isn't the only head coach who believes Ohio State will make the NCAA Tournament. After losing to the Buckeyes on Thursday, Hoosier head coach Archie Miller said the Scarlet and Gray are "definitely" an NCAA Tournament team. Tom Izzo agreed with Miller's assessment of Ohio State. "They've got a young team," he said of the Buckeyes after the win. "And even though their guy (Kaleb Wesson) wasn't hurt, he was out for three games. Wesson is a hell of a player but I think some of those freshmen are improving. And they're definitely going to be a tournament team that I think brings something to the table with Wesson in there that can help." According to many of the experts, Holtmann, Miller and Izzo are correct when it comes to the Scarlet and Gray' tournament chances. As of Friday morning, CBS Sports' Jerry Palm had Ohio State as an 11-seed in the East Region playing Mississippi State. The Athletic's Brian Bennett also had the Buckeyes as an 11-seed in the East on Friday morning but playing Villanova. ESPN's Joe Lunardi again has the Scarlet and Gray listed as an 11-seed as well coming out of the West and playing Villanova, and that's after the loss to the Spartans. "We put ourselves in a great position with the win yesterday, but we've just got to see," point guard Keyshawn Woods said on Friday. "We (have) the body of work. We're just going to wait and see Sunday." After falling on Friday, Ohio State will sit and watch the remainder of the conference tournaments over the next two days. Holtmann said the Buckeyes certainly need a day off after playing back to backs Thursday and Friday but the Scarlet and Gray players want to get back to work on Sunday. That evening, the selection show will determine if Ohio State is in the tournament for certain and, most likely, the Buckeyes' seeding. What's next for the Buckeyes? Make sure you're in the loop -- take five seconds to sign up for our FREE Buckeyes newsletter now! Want the latest scoops and news on the Buckeyes? Try our 7-DAY FREE TRIAL AND BECOME A BUCKNUTS SUBSCRIBER! Last year, due to the Big Ten Tournament being in New York and a week earlier, the Scarlet and Gray hosted a selection show watch party at Value City Arena. Holtmann said on Friday that he didn't know what his team would do for the event, although it's likely the players and staff will watch together. While Ohio State's inclusion in the NCAA Tournament is not set in stone, those who know college basketball seem to believe the Buckeyes have done enough for entrance into the Big Dance. All that's left to do is wait and see how the cards will fall on Sunday. "I feel confident but I think you’re always a little -- you’re excited, for one. Excited and anxious for Sunday and for what that show is going to be I would say," Holtmann said. "I feel good about our body of work."<doc-sep>
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. The Buckeyes finished their regular season with a record of 19-14 and 8-12 in the Big Ten. They will head to Tulsa, Oklahoma, as a No. 11 seed to take on No. 6 Iowa State in the Midwest Region. In total the Big Ten is sending eight teams to NCAA Tournament. Iowa State ended its season with a 23-11 record and 9-9 in the Big 12. The Cyclones earned an automatic bid by taking down Kansas in the the Big 12 championship game. Ohio State’s regular season started out on a high note with a 12-1 record entering Big Ten play with road wins over Cincinnati and Creighton as well as a win over UCLA. But since the turn of the calendar Ohio State has gone 7-14 including the Big Ten Tournament, where it lost to Michigan State in the quarterfinals. In conference play, the Buckeyes suffered a six-game losing streak and closed out the regular season losing four of their last five games. Three of those losses came after their biggest win of the season, a 90-70 win over then-22nd-ranked Iowa at home. Days later it was announced that leading scorer Kaleb Wesson would be suspended indefinitely for violating an Ohio State athletic department policy. He wouldn’t return until the Buckeyes’ second-round matchup with Indiana, and Ohio State put together its worst stretch of the season. Despite losing streaks, suspensions and injuries to key rotation players, Ohio State still received an invite to the dance. This team didn’t surpass any preseason expectations like it did last season — in fact, it ended up exactly where people thought it would be. But the Buckeyes showed flashes of what the future holds despite their limitations. This team lacked the offensive firepower to compete against the top of the Big Ten this season but was good enough to beat the teams at the bottom. They were a middle-of-the-road team that showed flashes of what the future could look like.