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LGHL Ohio State women’s basketball Bracketology, March Madness tournament structure and key dates

Ohio State women’s basketball Bracketology, March Madness tournament structure and key dates
ThomasCostello
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament - Seattle Regional

Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Here’s what you need to know about the Buckeyes’ inclusion in the NCAA Tournament before Sunday’s announcement of the tourney field

Ohio State women’s basketball left the Big Ten Tournament early after a one-sided defeat to the Maryland Terrapins, but the postseason is far from over. The Buckeyes still have a chance to exceed its Elite Eight tournament run from last season when March Madness starts next week.

Here’s what you need to know about the tournament, along with where the Scarlet and Gray might fall when the NCAA Tournament committee shares its tournament field this Sunday.


Bracketology


As the regular season ends, the NCAA Tournament committee releases its weekly top-16. That ranking includes every team on the radar to be a top-four seed in the annual tournament. In the final edition, before the Buckeyes traveled to Iowa City on March 3, Ohio State was in the top-four, earning it a potential No. 1 seed.

A lot’s happened since then.

The defeat to the Hawkeyes, and the subsequent loss five days later against the Terrapins, means that a No. 1 seed is no longer a strong likelihood. However, there’s no official way to know with the NCAA Tournament committee no longer releasing top-16 rankings. The closest system to go off is the art of Bracketology.

Across media outlets like The Athletic, Her Hoop Stats and ESPN, a two-seed is the consensus spot for Ohio State, with opponents varying between outlet. However, the groups don’t only agree on seeding, but also location and pairing with a No. 1 seed.

All outlets have the Big Ten regular season champs in the Albany 1 region, featuring the South Carolina Gamecocks, the likely No. 1 overall tournament seed.

NCAA Womens Basketball: SEC Conference Tournament Championship - South Carolina vs LSU
Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks have lost one game since the start of the 2022/23 season

Should both the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the region make it through the Sweet Sixteen, it means a matchup with the only undefeated team in men or women’s Division I NCAA basketball.


Tournament Structure


For those who extended Ohio State fandom to the women’s basketball team this season, most of the tournament structure is the same as the men. The tournament still features 68 teams, with four play-in games before the official first round. Then, it’s the same route from the First Round through the Final Four. The lone difference is location.

Each of the four bracket’s top four seeds host the first and second round games, with four cities also hosting a play-in, First Four, game. Last season, the Buckeyes hosted the first two rounds, plus a play-in contest.

With a likely top-four seeding this year, Ohio State will host the first two rounds next week, in Columbus.

Another location difference between the men and women’s games are in the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight. Instead of using four different host cities, the women centralize its regional semifinals and finals in two cities. In 2024 its Portland, Oregon and Albany, New York.

Last season, the Buckeyes traveled to the West Coast for one of two Seattle, Washington finals. Should Bracketology hold true, Scarlet and Gray fans have a substantially shorter trip to New York if it gets through the first two rounds.


Key Dates


The 68-team tournament field announcement is Sunday at 8:00 p.m. ET, live on ESPN. However, the range of dates for each of the rounds of the tournament are already scheduled.

First Four: Wednesday, March 20 through Thursday, March 21
First Round: Friday, March 22 through Saturday, March 23
Second Round: Sunday, March 24 through Monday, March 25
Sweet Sixteen: Friday, March 29 through Saturday, March 30
Elite Eight: Sunday, March 31 through Monday, April 1
Final Four: Friday, April 5
National Championship: Sunday, April 7

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LGHL Hangout in the Holy Land Podcast: Way-too-early spring practice observations and a shocking staff departure

Hangout in the Holy Land Podcast: Way-too-early spring practice observations and a shocking staff departure
Josh Dooley
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


usa_today_22696554.0.jpg

Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Hangout Boys react to Ohio State’s first few spring football practices, and give their predictions for the men’s (basketball) Big Ten Tournament game against Iowa.

The latest episode of Land-Grant Holy Land’s flagship podcast is here! Join LGHL’s Josh Dooley and Chuck Holmes as they discuss Ohio State football, recruiting, and much, much more! Come for the hot takes, stay for the warm ones.

Listen to the episode and subscribe:


Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio



On this episode of “Hangout in the Holy Land,” Josh and Chuck take a deep, deep dive into Ohio State’s spring football practices... All, uh, both of them. As well as Tony Alford’s shocking move to Michigan.

But first, is the OSU men’s basketball team about to make another surprising Big Ten Tournament run? With five wins in six games under Jake Diebler, it certainly seems possible. The Buckeyes take on Iowa in the first round, in a game the Scarlet and Gray desperately need to win if they have any hope(s) of making the Big Dance.

After making a few men’s hoops predictions, the hosts turn their attention toward football. Why in the hell is Tony Alford leaving for Michigan? And what, if anything, was learned during the Buckeyes’ customary spring acclimation period?

The answer to the latter is probably “nothing”, but the Hangout Boys sort through way-too-early questions and observations anyway.

Please make sure to like, rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast! And as always, Go Bucks!



Connect with the pod
Twitter:
@HolyLandPod

Connect with Josh Dooley
Twitter:
@jdooleybuckeye

Connect with Chuck Holmes
Twitter:
@ctholmes3

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LGHL Buckeyes’ first-round game vs. Iowa feels eerily similar to 2019 Big Ten Tournament

Buckeyes’ first-round game vs. Iowa feels eerily similar to 2019 Big Ten Tournament
Connor Lemons
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


NCAA Basketball: Ohio State at Iowa

Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Five years to the day of another Big Ten Tournament elimination game, Ohio State once again finds itself fighting for its NCAA Tournament life.

On March 14, 2019, the Ohio State men’s basketball team found itself in a win-or-miss the NCAA Tournament situation against Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament. The ninth-seeded Buckeyes were taking on the eighth-seeded Indiana Hoosiers in the first game of the second round at the United Center in Chicago, knowing that a loss would put them in the NIT.

Before the game, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had Ohio State as the final team in the tournament and Indiana as the first team out. That meant a win would cement an at-large berth for whoever came out on top that Thursday afternoon.

Ironically enough, that 2019 Indiana team played the same role that this year’s Ohio State team is playing — dumpster fire turned plucky underdog. The Hoosiers started that year 3-0 in the Big Ten before losing 11 of its next 12 games to fall to 4-11 in conference play. They rallied back at the end of the season to win their final four games — including two over ranked teams — to finish 8-12 in the Big Ten and (stunningly) put itself back in the NCAA Tournament conversation after looking like a corpse in mid-February.

Things didn’t turn out in Indiana’s favor in Archie Miller’s second season, as Ohio State hung on in the closing seconds to win 79-75 and lock up its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The 11-seed Buckeyes would go on to beat six-seed Iowa State in the opening round before getting popped by three-seed Houston in the second round. The Hoosiers would advance to the quarterfinals of the NIT before falling to Wichita State.

Never meant to make your (team) cry @C_Jack13 hits the try to give @OhioStateHoops a double-digit lead.#B1GTourney x #MarchOnBTN pic.twitter.com/OfrXUBesfn

— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) March 14, 2019

Fast forward exactly five years, and the 2023-24 Ohio State team is in an eerily similar spot.

The Buckeyes began the season 2-1 in the Big Ten, then lost nine of their next 11 games to fall to 4-10 in conference play. On the morning of Feb. 14 — 12 hours after losing to Wisconsin in Madison — head coach Chris Holtmann was fired with six games remaining in the season, including No. 2 Purdue coming up in four days.

All interim head coach Jake Diebler did was slide down a chair and guide Ohio State to a 5-1 record in its final six games, finishing with a record of 19-12, and 9-11 in the Big Ten.

The unlikely push at the end of the season, paired with the fact that two of the wins were over No. 2 Purdue and Michigan State on the road, oh so slowly nudged Ohio State back into the NCAA Tournament picture. A season that once looked so incredibly lost that Athletic Director Gene Smith chose to fire Holtmann quickly developed into one of the best stories in college basketball.

By going 5-1 over the final six games, Ohio State rose from the No. 13 seed to the No. 10 seed, earning a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament. That paired the surging Buckeyes with No. 7 Iowa, which — wouldn’t you know — is also fighting for their NCAA Tournament lives after finishing 10-10 in the Big Ten.

Both the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes are listed in various Bracketology predictions as part of the “next four out” group, meaning if either team wants to make the NCAA Tournament, they need to win this opening game plus at least one more. Unlike 2019, neither of these teams are guaranteed a spot simply by winning this first-round game.

But at the same time — just like Indiana and Ohio State in 2019 — both Ohio State and Iowa are within a short reach of making the Big Dance. A win will put them on the doorstep of the tournament, while a loss will close the book on someone’s March Madness aspirations for good.

The stakes are incredibly high for both programs. Diebler has unexpectedly put incoming athletic director Ross Bjork in a difficult spot with his first big hire at Ohio State. Can Bjork afford to hire Diebler — a man who has now been a head coach for a total of eight games — with his first hire? He has one of the biggest athletic budgets in the country, and already has been vetting multiple sitting high-major coaches for the position.

And yet, Diebler is staring him right in the face and just keeps on winning.

Last Sunday, in his debut as Ohio State’s interim coach, Jake Diebler led his Buckeyes to an upset of No. 2 Purdue.

Exactly 7 days later, Ohio State ends a 17-game road losing skid in East Lansing at the buzzer.

Jake Diebler’s reaction is PRICELESS.

What a week it has been. pic.twitter.com/QdsygvhaXB

— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) February 25, 2024

If Diebler is able to galvanize a group that was left for dead one month ago — the youngest team in the Big Ten, mind you — and get them to the NCAA Tournament, will he force Bjork’s hand? Two wins in the Big Ten Tournament could get the Buckeyes dancing, and would also mean the 38-year old would improve his record this season to 7-1 under unique and very difficult circumstances. It was a hell of a hypothetical three weeks ago. Now it’s very real.

For Iowa, it is the ongoing and eternal search for a Sweet Sixteen under Fran McCaffery. Now in his 14th season, McCaffery’s Hawkeyes have made the NCAA Tournament eight out of 13 seasons and have won 20+ games eight times as well. Iowa perennially has one of, if not the, best offense in the Big Ten, and has produced multiple Big Ten Players of the Year as well as a National Player of the Year.

However, Iowa still has not been to the Sweet Sixteen since 1999. There hasn’t been any smoke about McCaffery moving on from Iowa, but next year would be the first season since 2017 that he won’t have one of his sons on the team once Patrick McCaffery exhausts his eligibility after this season. After losing to a lower-seeded team in the first round each of the last two seasons, a similar result this year would not be appreciated by the fans in Iowa City. Not even getting to the tournament would be worse.

Five years to the day that Ohio State gutted out a win against Indiana and forced its way into the NCAA Tournament, they will have the chance to do it again if they can toppled Iowa and its high-powered offense and then string another win or two together after that.

It will not be easy, but this team has been playing with house money for over a month. Led by a bulldog point guard in Bruce Thornton who has to be drug off the floor and a sharp-shooting senior in Jamison Battle who came to Ohio State just to play in the NCAA Tournament, this team is embracing this challenge and the chaos that comes with it.

“Tomorrow is March,” Battle said after Ohio State’s 78-69 win over Nebraska. “Let the madness begin.”

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LGHL Thornton, Battle earn B1G honors, early enrollee Smith named high school player of the year

Thornton, Battle earn B1G honors, early enrollee Smith named high school player of the year
Matt Tamanini
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


NCAA Basketball: Michigan at Ohio State

Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

While the football team is on Spring Break, lots of news from other OSU sports.

Look, we get it. Your days are busy and you don’t have time to read all of the stories and tweets from the three dozen websites dedicated to covering Ohio State athletics, or the 237 Buckeye beat writers churning out hot takes and #content on a daily basis. But that’s ok, that’s what your friends at Land-Grant Holy Land are here for.

Monday through Friday, we’ll be collecting all of the articles, tweets, features, interviews, videos, podcasts, memes, photos, and whatever else we stumble across on the interwebz and putting them in our daily “Why is this News?” article. That way, you’ll have a one-stop shop for all of the most important Buckeye news, jokes, and analysis.

You’re welcome!


For your Earholes...


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On the Gridiron


Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith named Maxwell High School Player of the Year
Matt Parker, Lettermen Row

Ohio State: 38 thoughts on 38 offensive scholarship players in spring camp (paywall)
Bill Landis, Dotting the Eyes

Happy Belated Birthday, Coach!


Happy 4️⃣5️⃣th, Ryan Day! @ryandaytime x @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/MkOyUhLPXp

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) March 12, 2024

Jack Sawyer, J.T. Tuimoloau still aiming to improve in final spring at Ohio State (paywall)
Spencer Holbrook, Lettermen Row

Talented freshman QB Lincoln Kienholz working with third team, focused on development
Dave Biddle, Bucknuts

Four Buckeyes flashing on offense early in spring camp (paywall)
Austin Ward, Dotting the Eyes


Most Clutch Players in College Football History

1 Vince Young (Texas)
2 Stetson Bennett (Georgia)
3 Cardale Jones (Ohio State)
4 Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama)
5 Hunter Renfrow (Clemson)
6 Joe Burrow (LSU)
7 Ezekiel Elliott (Ohio State)
8 Nick Marshall (Auburn)
9 Michael Crabtree… pic.twitter.com/zOd7VIJLna

— Blue Bloods Bias (@bluebloodsbias) March 12, 2024

B1G Thoughts: Five offensive players to watch in the Big Ten this spring
Jordan Williams, Land-Grant Holy Land

Which new Ohio State football player are you most excited about and who should be the next men’s basketball coach?
Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land


On the Hardwood


Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton, Jamison Battle earn All-Big Ten honors
Connor Lemons, Land-Grant Holy Land

Evaluating How the Resumes of 10 NCAA Tournament Bubble Teams Compare With Ohio State Entering Big Ten Tournament
Andy Anders, Eleven Warriors


The Bubble, broadly construed pic.twitter.com/l0W7roeZbj

— Bart T rvik (@totally_t_bomb) March 11, 2024

Pros and Cons for Emergin Candidates in Ohio State Basketball Head Coaching Search
Andy Anders, Eleven Warriors

Devin Royal, Scotty Middleton part of deeper bench fueling Ohio State
Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch


One of the worst days in the entire history of planet Earth. Maybe the universe. https://t.co/VuLuMCU0t4

— Connor Lemons (@lemons_connor) March 12, 2024

Big Ten Tourney Primer: Buckeyes hope to secure NCAA bid this weekend
Steve Helwagen, Bucknuts


Outside the Shoe and Schott


Rough weekend for Buckeye sports, but here is why I think everyone will be fine
Megan Husslein, Land-Grant Holy Land

Former Ohio State Wrestler, UFC Legend Mark Coleman Hospitalized for Smoke Inhalation After Sabing Parents from House Fire
Chase Brown, Eleven Warriors

Men’s Lacrosse: Buckeyes Defeat Detroit Mercy, 16-10
Ohio State Athletics


Congrats to the Buckeyes selected for the @NCAA Championships!

M. Viveros
Y. Mazur
P. Veltrup
M. Weiss
A. Lee
D. Myroniuk
E. Ndiaye
J. Vogler
L. Fioretto

https://t.co/HvYfKIvX3O#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/sb36dZ6ndw

— Ohio State Fencing (@OhioStateFEN) March 13, 2024

Fencing: Buckeyes Selected for NCAA Championships
Ohio State Athletics

Softball: Two-Out Hitting Keys 8-0 Five-Inning Win over Belmont
Ohio State Athletics

Women’s Lacrosse: Buckeyes Down Marquette in High-Scoring Game, 22-17
Ohio State Athletics


And now for something completely different...


I am so ready for “Monkey Man”:


At the world premiere of @monkeymanmovie, Dev Patel walks us through making his new film both as an actor and director.

Monkey Man opens only in theaters April 5 via @UniversalPics. #MonkeyManMovie pic.twitter.com/h0zuKif6GK

— Letterboxd (@letterboxd) March 13, 2024

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