Buckeyes check in at No. 22 in latest AP Poll

For the first time since Week 17 of the 2014-15, the Ohio State men’s basketball team is ranked in the AP Poll. Following a 15-4 start to their season and a perfect 6-0 record in the Big Ten, the Buckeyes checked in at No. 22 in the latest Associated Press Top 25.

The Big Ten has four ranked teams, including Ohio State. The others are No. 3 Purdue, No. 9 Michigan State, and No. 23 Michigan. Although the conference isn’t as good as it once was, having four teams in the Top 25, including two top-nine teams, isn’t bad. The Buckeyes are tied with the Boilermakers atop the Big Ten standings.

Although they come in at No. 22, the Buckeyes are just the third-best team in Ohio; according to the rankings. Both Xavier (No. 11) and Cincinnati (No. 12) are ranked ahead of Ohio State.

After they were picked to finish 11th out of 14 Big Ten teams prior to the season, it has been quite an impressive first 19 games of the season for the Buckeyes. Head coach Chris Holtmann and his staff have not only gotten their best out of each of their players, but they’ve done quite a job in turning this team around in search a short period of time.

One year removed from going 17-15, including a 7-11 Big Ten record, it seems as though Holtmann and company have already exceeded expectations. Now, the Buckeyes just need to keep it up the rest of the season and keep the momentum going into March, where they can possibly make noise if they are healthy.

Ranked for the first time in almost three years and with a perfect conference record, it seems as though they will have a target on their back the rest of the season. For their next game, the Buckeyes travel to Rosemont, Illinois to take on Northwestern Wednesday night. Tip is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.