Ohio State ticket punched, bracket path set for NCAA Tournament
COLUMBUS — Ohio State wasn’t sweating on Selection Sunday.
The Buckeyes knew they would be included in the 68-team field, even after their late-season slump. Now they officially know their path through March Madness. Their first-round dance partner has been revealed.
Ohio State is the No. 7 seed in the South Region of the bracket. The Buckeyes will face No. 10 seed Loyola Chicago in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Friday. The Buckeyes will play their first-round game on Friday at 12:15 p.m. on CBS with a chance to advance to the latter part of the weekend with a win. If they can beat Loyola Chicago, the Buckeyes will face the winner of No. 2 seed Villanova and No. 15 seed Delaware.
Arizona is the top seed in the Buckeyes portion of the bracket.
The Buckeyes (19-11 record this season) enter the tournament on a late-season slide, which has resulted in four losses in their last five games. They’re not healthy. They aren’t playing well on either end of the floor. But at least they’ll have a few days to figure out how to fix issues that have plagued them during the early part of March.
Some of those problems have lingered all season and some that have just recently popped up. Ohio State is currently without forwards Kyle Young and Zed Key, and it hasn’t been at full-strength throughout March — and for most of the season.
Top 10
- 1New
Herbstreit almost left CGD
Saban, McAfee helped stop the move
- 2
Evan Stewart
Oregon WR returning for 2025 season
- 3
Booger McFarland
Taking issue with Steve Sarkisian
- 4
Dispelling OSU narrative
Kirk Herbstreit fires back
- 5Trending
Kirk Herbstreit interview
ESPN analyst joins Andy & Ari On3
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
“We’ve got a week to figure something out,” star forward E.J. Liddell said after the second-round loss to Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday. “No excuses for it tonight. Honestly, I’m not going to make any excuses. We need to play harder. If we don’t know that by now, something’s wrong, but we’ve got a week to get better. This is our longest break in a while. Hopefully we can get healthy and come back out and play.”
If Ohio State can get those issues solved in the coming days, it has a chance to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.
The Buckeyes already knew they would be included in the bracket. With their path forward now clearly set, they can lock in on the matchup against Loyola Chicago.
This is a breaking news story. Lettermen Row will have more information when it becomes available.
