Can Ohio State Make the NCAA Tournament?

Ohio State is playing its best basketball of the season, but is it too little, too late?

It has not been a great year for Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann, that’s for certain. The season started off well — as the Buckeyes were ranked No. 24 in the Associated Press poll on Jan. 2. Then came the rest of the month … and the month after that. What happened next is something not many Buckeye fans want to talk about. From Jan. 5 through Feb. 23, OSU went 4-15. That is the bad news. 

The good news is that they picked up two of those wins in their last three games. Now add the win on Wednesday in the BIG 10 Tournament opener and Ohio State has won three of four. The Buckeyes dominated Wisconsin from the start of the game in the conference tourney opener and held on to win. They now face Iowa in the second round, Thursday afternoon. 

Every team wants to be playing their best basketball at this time of the year and despite how bad this season has been for Ohio State, they appear to be playing well. As Sam Block tweeted, “THE BUCKS ARE HOT.”

Will it be enough to get them into the NCAAs?

FINAL: Ohio State defeats Wisconsin 65-57. The Buckeyes are 10 wins away from being crowned National Champs. Survive and advance. THE BUCKS ARE HOT. pic.twitter.com/ikn2ShxNRP

— Sam Block (@theblockspot) March 9, 2023