Connor Lemons
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You’re Nuts: How confident are we that Ohio State will make the NCAA 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
John Jones-Imagn Images
Ohio State picked up a humongous resume-building win against the Wildcats last weekend.
The Ohio State men’s basketball team faced off with a top-five team for the second time last weekend, and it’s fair to say that it went drastically different than the first time.
Exactly seven days after being rolled by No. 2 Auburn by 38 points — one of the worst losses for the program in the past half century — Ohio State took it to the No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats, winning 85-65. The Buckeyes outscored Kentucky 36-24 in the paint, despite being the far smaller and less experienced team.
Ohio State’s NCAA Tournament resume was completely upgraded and refreshed, as they’ve now got two Quad-1 wins under their belt. More on that later.
Last week, Connor and Justin celebrated Christmas early and kept with the holiday theme by debating which college basketball coaches were going to end up on Santa’s naughty list. Connor went with Rick Pitino, who decided his team would no longer participate in the post-game handshake line. Justin chose Green Bay head coach Doug Gottlieb, who called D-II Michigan Tech “Nobody U” and then lost to them at home hours later.
73% of readers liked Justin’s pick of Gottlieb, who has also lost to Ohio State this season in Columbus.
Connor- 83
One week ago, Ohio State was trending downward in a major way. Embarrassing blowout losses to Maryland and Auburn on the road erased any notion that this team could compete to win the Big Ten this season, but also had many people doubting if this is even an NCAA Tournament-caliber team.
With its win only win against tournament-caliber teams being its victory over the Texas Longhorns to open the season, Ohio State was running out of time to add a non-conference gem to its resume. It did that with a blowout win over Kentucky.
How does that change our vision of this Ohio State team? Is this a surefire NCAA Tournament team? A bubble squad at best? Or was this win merely a fluke? Should we expect a bumpy road in Big Ten play despite last weekend’s win?
If you were getting ready to grab your life vest and jump off the Ohio State boat last week, that win over Kentucky should make you feel a whole lot safer. Perspective is everything, and boy oh boy, things look so much better with that win than if the Buckeyes would’ve lost.
If they would’ve lost, Ohio State would have been 7-5 overall, 1-1 in Big Ten play, and with one Quad-1 win so far this season — Texas.
With the win, the Buckeyes are now 8-4 and have two Quad-1 wins. A win over a top-five team, especially with the Kentucky brand name, is going to age well over the course of the season.
Making the bold assumption that the Buckeyes beat Indiana State this weekend and get to 9-4 on the season, they would need to go 10-10 in Big Ten play plus win one game in the conference tournament to get to 20 wins for the 19th time in the past 21 years. 20 wins isn’t a magical benchmark to make the tournament, but 20 wins plus 10 wins in conference play plus a win over a top-five team will look pretty solid if they can get there.
Jake Diebler’s team is in a good spot at the moment, with the Sycamores coming to town this weekend followed by a visit from Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans next Friday. Michigan State is super deep this year, with eight different players averaging six points per game or better — by comparison, Ohio State has six.
But the Spartans struggle from beyond the arc (28.7% as a team), and don’t have the size around the basket that has given Ohio State problems this year. Right now ESPN is giving Ohio State a 57% chance to win that game.
If they do that and follow it up with a win over Minnesota three days later, the Buckeyes could be 11-4 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten heading into a brutally tough eight-game stretch that will start with a home date with Oregon.
I’m not sure if that hypothetical scenario will come to pass, but the Buckeyes should be favored to win all three of those games and get to 11-4. From there, Ohio State wouldn’t even need to play .500 basketball the rest of the way to have a great chance at making the tournament.
Plus, Bruce Thornton is the best player on the floor almost every time he plays. Ohio State is lucky to have him, and as long as he’s playing, the Buckeyes have a chance to win.
I get it. I want Ohio State to make the NCAA Tournament more than I want air to breathe. A lot of my winter happiness is derived from this team’s success, and over the past two years, my happiness has been non-existent.
However, I am cautious of getting too overworked about one game. The only other two wins outside of Kentucky that Ohio State has over teams with a pulse are Texas, who is 10-2 — but I predict will struggle in the SEC’s gauntlet of a schedule — and Rutgers, who, as of right now, is not a tournament team and just lost to Princeton.
The Kentucky win was amazing. It gave me hope I wasn’t sure I would have heading into conference play, but the first three games of 2025 will tell us a lot. At Minnesota is a must-win because the Gophers stink, but it is a road game. Conference road wins are tough to come by. Then, at home against Michigan State, which is a solid team, and then Oregon, which may be the best team in the conference.
Come out of that stretch 2-1 or 3-0, and I will feel much better.
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
John Jones-Imagn Images
Ohio State picked up a humongous resume-building win against the Wildcats last weekend.
The Ohio State men’s basketball team faced off with a top-five team for the second time last weekend, and it’s fair to say that it went drastically different than the first time.
Exactly seven days after being rolled by No. 2 Auburn by 38 points — one of the worst losses for the program in the past half century — Ohio State took it to the No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats, winning 85-65. The Buckeyes outscored Kentucky 36-24 in the paint, despite being the far smaller and less experienced team.
Ohio State’s NCAA Tournament resume was completely upgraded and refreshed, as they’ve now got two Quad-1 wins under their belt. More on that later.
Last week, Connor and Justin celebrated Christmas early and kept with the holiday theme by debating which college basketball coaches were going to end up on Santa’s naughty list. Connor went with Rick Pitino, who decided his team would no longer participate in the post-game handshake line. Justin chose Green Bay head coach Doug Gottlieb, who called D-II Michigan Tech “Nobody U” and then lost to them at home hours later.
73% of readers liked Justin’s pick of Gottlieb, who has also lost to Ohio State this season in Columbus.
After 184 weeks:
Connor- 83
Justin- 78
Other- 18
(There have been five ties)
One week ago, Ohio State was trending downward in a major way. Embarrassing blowout losses to Maryland and Auburn on the road erased any notion that this team could compete to win the Big Ten this season, but also had many people doubting if this is even an NCAA Tournament-caliber team.
With its win only win against tournament-caliber teams being its victory over the Texas Longhorns to open the season, Ohio State was running out of time to add a non-conference gem to its resume. It did that with a blowout win over Kentucky.
How does that change our vision of this Ohio State team? Is this a surefire NCAA Tournament team? A bubble squad at best? Or was this win merely a fluke? Should we expect a bumpy road in Big Ten play despite last weekend’s win?
This week’s question: How confident are we that Ohio State will make the NCAA Tournament? (On a scale of 1-10)
Connor: 9.9
If you were getting ready to grab your life vest and jump off the Ohio State boat last week, that win over Kentucky should make you feel a whole lot safer. Perspective is everything, and boy oh boy, things look so much better with that win than if the Buckeyes would’ve lost.
If they would’ve lost, Ohio State would have been 7-5 overall, 1-1 in Big Ten play, and with one Quad-1 win so far this season — Texas.
With the win, the Buckeyes are now 8-4 and have two Quad-1 wins. A win over a top-five team, especially with the Kentucky brand name, is going to age well over the course of the season.
Making the bold assumption that the Buckeyes beat Indiana State this weekend and get to 9-4 on the season, they would need to go 10-10 in Big Ten play plus win one game in the conference tournament to get to 20 wins for the 19th time in the past 21 years. 20 wins isn’t a magical benchmark to make the tournament, but 20 wins plus 10 wins in conference play plus a win over a top-five team will look pretty solid if they can get there.
Jake Diebler’s team is in a good spot at the moment, with the Sycamores coming to town this weekend followed by a visit from Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans next Friday. Michigan State is super deep this year, with eight different players averaging six points per game or better — by comparison, Ohio State has six.
But the Spartans struggle from beyond the arc (28.7% as a team), and don’t have the size around the basket that has given Ohio State problems this year. Right now ESPN is giving Ohio State a 57% chance to win that game.
If they do that and follow it up with a win over Minnesota three days later, the Buckeyes could be 11-4 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten heading into a brutally tough eight-game stretch that will start with a home date with Oregon.
I’m not sure if that hypothetical scenario will come to pass, but the Buckeyes should be favored to win all three of those games and get to 11-4. From there, Ohio State wouldn’t even need to play .500 basketball the rest of the way to have a great chance at making the tournament.
Plus, Bruce Thornton is the best player on the floor almost every time he plays. Ohio State is lucky to have him, and as long as he’s playing, the Buckeyes have a chance to win.
Justin: 5
I get it. I want Ohio State to make the NCAA Tournament more than I want air to breathe. A lot of my winter happiness is derived from this team’s success, and over the past two years, my happiness has been non-existent.
However, I am cautious of getting too overworked about one game. The only other two wins outside of Kentucky that Ohio State has over teams with a pulse are Texas, who is 10-2 — but I predict will struggle in the SEC’s gauntlet of a schedule — and Rutgers, who, as of right now, is not a tournament team and just lost to Princeton.
The Kentucky win was amazing. It gave me hope I wasn’t sure I would have heading into conference play, but the first three games of 2025 will tell us a lot. At Minnesota is a must-win because the Gophers stink, but it is a road game. Conference road wins are tough to come by. Then, at home against Michigan State, which is a solid team, and then Oregon, which may be the best team in the conference.
Come out of that stretch 2-1 or 3-0, and I will feel much better.
Continue reading...