Trying to figure out an NCAA college basketball bracket is hard enough in March, let alone before the first official tip to the season. But that’s why ESPN pays Joe Lunardi the big bucks — to do just that.
Lunardi has been coming out with brackets in a few releases throughout the year, and he just released one in October. And where does he have Ohio State? About where the AP Poll thinks the Buckeyes are — as a No. 5 seed.
As a reminder, OSU is locked in at No. 18 in the preseason AP Poll. Do the math, and a seed in this range would typically be ranked anywhere between a stack ranking of 17 through 20.
Now, that is a fall from the previous bracket that had Ohio State at a No. 4 seed, but that’s splitting hairs at this point. I also wouldn’t suggest setting up travel plans just yet, but as it stands, Lunardi has the Buckeyes playing No. 12 seed Liberty in Sacramento.
We don’t have to tell you that this is all speculation and there’s no real way to tell how good Ohio State or any other team is going to be until we’re far enough into the season. By then we’ll have actual games and competition to go by instead of wild guesses.
For now though, most folks are expecting Ohio State to be a tournament team. However, I’m not quite sure some around the program aren’t feeling a little slighted with the rankings and projections coming in. Don’t be surprised if this team exceeds expectations yet again.
