OH-MY-O!
Ohio State Buckeyes, Cincinnati Bearcats, Xavier Musketeers, Ohio Bobcats
Don't get it twisted: The Buckeyes belong among the national title favorites. This team entered the tournament as one of the nation's more undervalued bracket picks, and the laptops of the world -- i.e., the advanced college hoops rankings systems that bring tempo-free order to this chaotic world -- maintain their infatuation: Oh-SU ranks No. 2 overall in both the KenPom and LRMC rankings, thanks primarily to a defense that continues to stifle and stonewall opponents with alarming consistency. If
Aaron Craft and
William Buford are making shots -- and they are, far more so than in Ohio State's late-season losses to Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin -- this team remains a very real contender.
[+] EnlargeKevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesD.J. Cooper and the surprising Bobcats are one of a record four Ohio teams in the Sweet 16.
But it was far too tempting to include the Buckeyes alongside their Buckeye State brethren. That group includes, if you can believe it, three other Ohioan outfits: Xavier, Cincinnati and Ohio. The Bobcats are the first 13-seed in the Sweet 16 since Bradley in 2006, thanks to their impressive ability to find good looks against a South Florida defense that dominated Temple in Friday's first round.
And what about Xavier and Cincy? The last time these two teams were mentioned in the same breath, they were knocking each other around in Dec. 10's ugly Crosstown Shootout brawl, a mess that threatened both schools' reputations and both teams' seasons. Xavier took the most time to recover, and it needed a late-February/early-March rally to ensure an NCAA tournament bid. Now here, led by preseason All-American candidate
Tu Holloway, X made the most out of its unlikely resurrection (and ended a near-miraculous Sweet 16 bid from 15-seed Lehigh and C.J. McCollum in the process).
Anyway, stand tall and proud, denizens of Ohio. The college hoops season has whittled its national title contestants to just 16 teams, and your great state -- whatever the reason: local talent, water-filtration quality or good, old-fashioned coincidence -- can lay claim to a full 25 percent. How cool is that?