Don’t Forget Cavs center Ante Zizic
February 26, 2018Keita Bates-Diop, Jae’Sean Tate, Kaleb Wesson earn All-Big Ten honors
February 27, 2018
After their incredible win in Bloomington, Indiana Friday night over the Hoosiers,1 the Ohio State Buckeyes knew they would either be the No. 1 or 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. With Michigan State coming out with a victory in Wisconsin Sunday afternoon, the Spartans secured their outright Big Ten regular season title, making the Buckeyes the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, their best in the conference tournament since they were the No. 2 seed in 2013, the last time the Buckeyes won the Big Ten Tournament.
Finishing the regular season 24-7 (15-3) is a story in itself, but Ohio State still has plenty to play for in the postseason. Although they have already exceeded expectations in head coach Chris Holtmann’s first season in Columbus, the Buckeyes know that they can still make some noise in both the Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament.
For what it’s worth, Ohio State’s fate for a bid in the NCAA Tournament has nothing to do with what takes place in the world’s most famous arena next weekend. They are a lock to get into the madness of March, but they can help themselves (and their potential seed) by doing well in the conference tournament.
Due to the Big Ten moving their tournament to New York’s Madison Square Garden this season, it will be a week before their conference tournament normally took place. Instead of the Big Ten Championship ending moments before Selection Sunday, it will now be seven days before teams hear their fate for March. Why is that the case, you ask? The Big East has had their conference tournament at MSG for quite a long time, so for the Big Ten to do so, they had to have theirs a week prior. Many people don’t like the change, myself included, but it is what it is. Luckily, it should be back to normal in 2019.
One of the top four seeds, Ohio State will receive a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament. They will open play Friday night at 6:30 p.m. ET against either No. 7 seed Penn State or No. 10 seed Northwestern. Keep in mind, two of the Buckeyes’ three Big Ten losses came against the Nittany Lions. The scarlet and gray could potentially have their hands full Friday night, but then again, what happens in the regular season doesn’t matter once the conference tournament and NCAA Tournament tip off.
Let the fun begin!
- One that included a three-pointer by Ohio State Buckeyes point guard C.J. Jackson with just over a second left to give the scarlet and gray an 80-78 victory. [↩]
