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Ohio State men’s basketball to host Cornell in opening round of NIT
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Clare Grant/The Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Buckeyes will get a taste of post-season basketball for the first time under head coach Jake Diebler.
Although they fell just short of making the NCAA Tournament, the Ohio State men’s basketball team (20-13, 9-11) will still get to participate in post-season play. On Sunday night, the NIT selection committee announced that the Buckeyes — who finished the season 6-2 in their last eight but fell to Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal — would be a 2 seed in the NIT, and will face Cornell at the Schottenstein Center. The exact date and time has yet to be announced, but it will be either Tuesday or Wednesday. Higher-seeded teams host the NIT, so Ohio State will get the opportunity to host their NIT games until they run into a team seeded higher than them.
Neither the NCAA Tournament nor the NIT both seemed possible in mid-February when Ohio State fired former head coach Chris Holtmann, but after Jake Diebler brought the Buckeyes to the brink of the big dance, the NIT suddenly seemed like a no-brainer. After the loss to Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament, Diebler was asked about the possibility of playing in the NIT and said, “These guys are a joy to coach, and I think if we do play, there’s a championship to be won, and I know the competitive spirit of this group. So I would anticipate if that’s the case that we’ll be ready to go.”
There were questions about whether or not the transfer portal opening up on Monday would impact Ohio State playing in the NIT, as well as if the ongoing coaching situation would make players hesitant to play. However, with Diebler being officially announced as Ohio State’s head coach on Sunday, both of those concerns appear to be resolved.
Now that Diebler has had the interim tag removed, the expectation is that most of the roster will stay put, and that the Buckeyes will be ready to play in the NIT whenever their name is called. If there’s a trophy to be won, Ohio State wants to win it.
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
Clare Grant/The Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Buckeyes will get a taste of post-season basketball for the first time under head coach Jake Diebler.
Although they fell just short of making the NCAA Tournament, the Ohio State men’s basketball team (20-13, 9-11) will still get to participate in post-season play. On Sunday night, the NIT selection committee announced that the Buckeyes — who finished the season 6-2 in their last eight but fell to Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal — would be a 2 seed in the NIT, and will face Cornell at the Schottenstein Center. The exact date and time has yet to be announced, but it will be either Tuesday or Wednesday. Higher-seeded teams host the NIT, so Ohio State will get the opportunity to host their NIT games until they run into a team seeded higher than them.
Neither the NCAA Tournament nor the NIT both seemed possible in mid-February when Ohio State fired former head coach Chris Holtmann, but after Jake Diebler brought the Buckeyes to the brink of the big dance, the NIT suddenly seemed like a no-brainer. After the loss to Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament, Diebler was asked about the possibility of playing in the NIT and said, “These guys are a joy to coach, and I think if we do play, there’s a championship to be won, and I know the competitive spirit of this group. So I would anticipate if that’s the case that we’ll be ready to go.”
There were questions about whether or not the transfer portal opening up on Monday would impact Ohio State playing in the NIT, as well as if the ongoing coaching situation would make players hesitant to play. However, with Diebler being officially announced as Ohio State’s head coach on Sunday, both of those concerns appear to be resolved.
Now that Diebler has had the interim tag removed, the expectation is that most of the roster will stay put, and that the Buckeyes will be ready to play in the NIT whenever their name is called. If there’s a trophy to be won, Ohio State wants to win it.
Continue reading...