Scarlet Sunrise: Ohio State secures first-round bye, 10 seed in Big Ten Tournament

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Ohio State secures first-round bye, 10 seed in Big Ten Tournament

Ohio State won’t play on the first day of the Big Ten Tournament, after all. A month removed from sitting at the bottom of the Big Ten standings with rival Michigan, the Buckeyes have secured the 10 seed in the conference tourney and, in effect, a first-round bye.

A Thursday night date with 7-seed Iowa is on the docket for Ohio State. Win that game, and the Buckeyes will face 2-seed Illinois in the quarterfinals.

Last year, Ohio State became the first-ever 13 seed to reach the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. The Buckeyes won three games in three days before suffering a loss to eventual conference tourney champion Purdue.

The #B1GMBBT bracket is set. 🏀 pic.twitter.com/26VaSJB5cc

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 11, 2024

Since Chris Holtmann was fired, and Jake Diebler was named interim head coach, Ohio State has won five of its last six games. The first two of those five wins came in Quad 1-A games: Diebler’s squad upset Purdue — projected as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament — and then ended its program-record 17-game road losing streak at Michigan State the next week. Ohio State followed up home wins over Nebraska (Quad 2) and Michigan (Quad 3) with a defiant victory at Rutgers (Quad 2) Sunday.

So here’s how Ohio State’s NCAA Tournament resume looks entering the Big Ten Tournament:

PROFILE
Overall Record: 19-12
Big Ten Record: 9-11
Quad 1 Record: 3-6 (3-3 vs. 1-A)
Quad 2 Record: 3-5
Quad 3 Record: 8-1
Quad 4 Record: 5-0

BEST WINS
Nov. 24 vs. Alabama
Feb. 18 vs. Purdue
Feb. 25 at Michigan State

NET RANKING
As of Sunday evening: 60

NOTE: Here are the quadrant breakdowns, based on NET ranking…

• Quad 1: Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75
• Quad 2: Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, Away 76-135
• Quad 3: Home 76-160, Neutral 101-200, Away 135-240
• Quad 4: Home 161-353, Neutral 201-353, Away 241-353

OUTLOOK
The Buckeyes likely need at least two wins in the Big Ten Tournament to give themselves a realistic chance to hear their name called on Selection Sunday. A win over Iowa would be a Quad 2 victory, and a win over Illinois would be a Quad 1 victory. If Ohio State gets by both the Hawkeyes and Fighting Illini, it could have a shot to make the Big Ten title game, considering it would likely either face Nebraska or Indiana in the semifinals in that scenario. The Buckeyes just beat Nebraska, and they’ve had Indiana on the ropes twice this season. A third win in the Big Ten tournament would almost certainly punch Ohio State’s ticket to March Madness.

Behind dominant defensive effort, red-hot Buckeyes roll at Rutgers

Ohio State held Rutgers without a field goal for at least seven and a half minutes not once but twice Sunday afternoon in Jersey Mike’s Arena. The Buckeyes looked like the team ranked top five in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency, not the Scarlet Knights.

Turnovers prevented Ohio State from breaking the game open in the first half. But the Buckeyes shot an impressive 57.7% from the floor in the final frame, including 5-of-10 from beyond the arc.

A 22-5 second-half run all but put the game away for Diebler and Co. From that point forward, Ohio State tied the bow on its fourth straight win as well as its second consecutive road victory.

For the full recap, head on over here.

ICYMI: Lettermen Row’s coverage of the first week of Ohio State spring football

Ohio State spring football is back. The Buckeyes held their first two practices in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center last week, and Lettermen Row was on site for each of them.

Miss our coverage? Check it out now!

• Will Howard building relationships, asserting himself as leader for Buckeyes

• Motivated Devin Brown shuts down transfer portal speculation

• Tim May: Who I’m keeping an eye on as spring practice opens

• Buckeyes quarterbacks settling in with new position coach, play-caller

• After starring in the slot, Emeka Egbuka ready to move around in final season

• Defensive observations from Buckeyes first spring practice

• Observations on Ohio State offense from first spring practice

• Quick hitters from first Ryan Day spring ball press conference

• Chip Kelly’s decision to take Ohio State OC job driven by pursuit of happiness

• Tim May: Buckeyes honing ‘skill and discipline’ to go with elite talent on hand

• What We Learned about Ohio State’s offensive line from the start of spring ball

• Tim May: Chip Kelly makes playful bid for Caleb Downs to play some offense for Ohio State, too

• New staff setup has Ryan Day feeling ‘more present with the whole operation’

• Defensive observations from Buckeyes second spring practice

• Offensive observations from Buckeyes second spring practice

• Jack Sawyer aiming to land captain role in final year for Buckeyes

• Tim May: ‘Scary’ Ohio State defense taking ‘natty or bust’ mentality into 2024

• Sonny Styles’ move to linebacker permanent, part of Jim Knowles’ long-term plan

• Denzel Burke dishes out honest assessments, setting expectations for Buckeyes

• Jordan Hancock thankful for position change, wants to be best ‘nickel’ in the country

• Ohio State defense could experiment with ‘Double Eagle’ front in 2024

• ‘He’s a supernatural athlete:’ Caleb Downs turning heads early in spring practice

• Tempo to be ‘side order,’ not ‘main course,’ of Ohio State offense in 2024

• Photos: Key returners, up-and-comers fill second Ohio State spring practice

• Three things we learned about Ohio State recruiting last week

Counting Down

Buckeyes vs. Akron: 173 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 264 days

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