Connor Lemons
Guest
All of Ohio State men’s basketball Big Ten Tournament seeding scenarios
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
The Buckeyes will be the 9, 10, or 11 seed in the conference tournament next week.
Every team in the Big Ten has one game remaining, and the seeding for the Big Ten Tournament — which begins Wednesday in Minneapolis — is starting to come together. After dwelling in last place or second-to-last place all season long, Ohio State has now won five of its last six games under interim head coach Jake Diebler and has a very good chance of getting a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
If Ohio State got a bye, it would play their first game on Thursday. To punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament, the Buckeyes probably need to win two games and make it to the semi-finals, like they did last year. Doing so would likely mean beating No. 3 Purdue or No. 12 Illinois on Friday, which would be a massive win on the resume and could boost Ohio State from the edge of the bubble right into the NCAA Tournament.
At 8-11 overall, Ohio State will be either the 9, 10, or 11 seed. Here are the scenarios in which the Buckeyes end up in each spot, and how that would impact their potential path in the conference tournament and beyond:
First game: Thursday, 12 noon E.T. vs 8-seed
Possible opponents: Indiana, Michigan State
Ohio State can only end with the 9-seed if they beat Rutgers on Sunday afternoon. Additionally, Minnesota would have to lose to Northwestern Saturday night, which would drop them into a tie with Ohio State at 9-11. Since Ohio State has that win over Purdue, the Buckeyes would take the 9-seed, and the Golden Gophers would slide down to the 10-seed.
The 8-seed would either be Indiana or Michigan State, depending on how the game between the two teams goes Sunday afternoon. If Michigan State beats Indiana, the Hoosiers would drop to 9-11 in the Big Ten. They swept Ohio State in the regular season, so they would be the 8-seed.
If Indiana beats Michigan State, the Spartans would slide down to the 8-seed and face Ohio State, while Indiana would end as either the 6 or 7-seed, based on how Iowa fares vs Illinois Sunday night.
Since Purdue is locked in as the 1-seed, we can say with certainty that if Ohio State were to win the 8-9 game, they would face the Boilermakers on Friday in the quarterfinals. A second win over Purdue would be the biggest and best thing Ohio State could do to cement its place in the NCAA Tournament.
First game: Thursday, 6:30 p.m. E.T. vs 7-seed
Possible opponents: Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State
This is the situation that has the most moving parts and uncertainty. Even with a win Sunday, Ohio State could stay put as the 10-seed. If Indiana beats Michigan State, Illinois beats Iowa, and Minnesota beats Northwestern, there would be a four-way tie at 10-10 right above Ohio State — so the Buckeyes would not jump any of them. Penn State’s game against Maryland would become irrelevant with an Ohio State win.
Ohio State could also remain the 10-seed if they lose to Rutgers. If Penn State loses to Maryland, spots 10-13 would all finish the year 8-12. Ohio State owns the tiebreakers over Penn State, Rutgers, and Maryland, so the Buckeyes would remain the 10-seed in that scenario. They would then face one of Indiana, Iowa, or Michigan State.
Since Illinois is locked in as the two-seed, we know that Ohio State would then face Illinois on Friday if it won the first-round game. A win over Illinois would likely be enough to get Ohio State into the NCAA Tournament, but it would not be as safe as it would be with a win over Purdue in that spot.
First game: Wednesday, 8 p.m. E.T. vs 14-seed
Possible opponents: Michigan
The Wolverines are locked in as the 14-seed, no matter what happens. If Ohio State loses to Rutgers on Sunday and Penn State beats Maryland, then Ohio State would slide down to the 11-seed, lose the first round bye, and have to play Wednesday night. Penn State would then slide up to the 10-seed, get the first-round bye, and play Thursday.
Ohio State and Penn State are tied at 8-11 in the Big Ten, and if both teams end the season with the same record (8-12 or 9-11), the Buckeyes own the tie-breaker because they have a win over Purdue.
Beating a bottom-dwelling Michigan team would not help Ohio State’s chances to make the NCAA Tournament. While it would add to their win total, it would be a Quad-3 win, which doesn’t boost Ohio State’s resume even a little bit. If anything, playing on Wednesday would just make Ohio State more tired if they made it to Friday and faced a team with fresh legs.
Being the 11-seed would line Ohio State to face the 6-seed on Thursday and the 3-seed on Friday, if they were to make it that far. Since the Michigan win would mean nothing, the Buckeyes would like need to get to the Big Ten Tournament championship game (win four games) to potentially make the NCAA Tournament.
Continue reading...
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
The Buckeyes will be the 9, 10, or 11 seed in the conference tournament next week.
Every team in the Big Ten has one game remaining, and the seeding for the Big Ten Tournament — which begins Wednesday in Minneapolis — is starting to come together. After dwelling in last place or second-to-last place all season long, Ohio State has now won five of its last six games under interim head coach Jake Diebler and has a very good chance of getting a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
If Ohio State got a bye, it would play their first game on Thursday. To punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament, the Buckeyes probably need to win two games and make it to the semi-finals, like they did last year. Doing so would likely mean beating No. 3 Purdue or No. 12 Illinois on Friday, which would be a massive win on the resume and could boost Ohio State from the edge of the bubble right into the NCAA Tournament.
At 8-11 overall, Ohio State will be either the 9, 10, or 11 seed. Here are the scenarios in which the Buckeyes end up in each spot, and how that would impact their potential path in the conference tournament and beyond:
How Ohio State ends up as the 9-seed
First game: Thursday, 12 noon E.T. vs 8-seed
Possible opponents: Indiana, Michigan State
Ohio State can only end with the 9-seed if they beat Rutgers on Sunday afternoon. Additionally, Minnesota would have to lose to Northwestern Saturday night, which would drop them into a tie with Ohio State at 9-11. Since Ohio State has that win over Purdue, the Buckeyes would take the 9-seed, and the Golden Gophers would slide down to the 10-seed.
The 8-seed would either be Indiana or Michigan State, depending on how the game between the two teams goes Sunday afternoon. If Michigan State beats Indiana, the Hoosiers would drop to 9-11 in the Big Ten. They swept Ohio State in the regular season, so they would be the 8-seed.
If Indiana beats Michigan State, the Spartans would slide down to the 8-seed and face Ohio State, while Indiana would end as either the 6 or 7-seed, based on how Iowa fares vs Illinois Sunday night.
Since Purdue is locked in as the 1-seed, we can say with certainty that if Ohio State were to win the 8-9 game, they would face the Boilermakers on Friday in the quarterfinals. A second win over Purdue would be the biggest and best thing Ohio State could do to cement its place in the NCAA Tournament.
How Ohio State ends up as the 10-seed
First game: Thursday, 6:30 p.m. E.T. vs 7-seed
Possible opponents: Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State
This is the situation that has the most moving parts and uncertainty. Even with a win Sunday, Ohio State could stay put as the 10-seed. If Indiana beats Michigan State, Illinois beats Iowa, and Minnesota beats Northwestern, there would be a four-way tie at 10-10 right above Ohio State — so the Buckeyes would not jump any of them. Penn State’s game against Maryland would become irrelevant with an Ohio State win.
Ohio State could also remain the 10-seed if they lose to Rutgers. If Penn State loses to Maryland, spots 10-13 would all finish the year 8-12. Ohio State owns the tiebreakers over Penn State, Rutgers, and Maryland, so the Buckeyes would remain the 10-seed in that scenario. They would then face one of Indiana, Iowa, or Michigan State.
Since Illinois is locked in as the two-seed, we know that Ohio State would then face Illinois on Friday if it won the first-round game. A win over Illinois would likely be enough to get Ohio State into the NCAA Tournament, but it would not be as safe as it would be with a win over Purdue in that spot.
How Ohio State ends up as the 11-seed
First game: Wednesday, 8 p.m. E.T. vs 14-seed
Possible opponents: Michigan
The Wolverines are locked in as the 14-seed, no matter what happens. If Ohio State loses to Rutgers on Sunday and Penn State beats Maryland, then Ohio State would slide down to the 11-seed, lose the first round bye, and have to play Wednesday night. Penn State would then slide up to the 10-seed, get the first-round bye, and play Thursday.
Ohio State and Penn State are tied at 8-11 in the Big Ten, and if both teams end the season with the same record (8-12 or 9-11), the Buckeyes own the tie-breaker because they have a win over Purdue.
Beating a bottom-dwelling Michigan team would not help Ohio State’s chances to make the NCAA Tournament. While it would add to their win total, it would be a Quad-3 win, which doesn’t boost Ohio State’s resume even a little bit. If anything, playing on Wednesday would just make Ohio State more tired if they made it to Friday and faced a team with fresh legs.
Being the 11-seed would line Ohio State to face the 6-seed on Thursday and the 3-seed on Friday, if they were to make it that far. Since the Michigan win would mean nothing, the Buckeyes would like need to get to the Big Ten Tournament championship game (win four games) to potentially make the NCAA Tournament.
Continue reading...