It’s that time of year where we start to get really interested in where college basketball teams are slotting in the litany of major NCAA bracket projections. Up until now, it’s all just been jockeying for position, but now teams are either safely in, on the bubble, or out of the mix with some serious work to do.
Ohio State falls somewhere in the middle of all of that. It has some impressive wins from earlier in the season, a serious swoon in January, and now a bit of a rebound over the last six games.
Still, a steak one way or the other could drastically change the prospects of where the Buckeyes could be headed come March. It is truly madness.
With all that’s at stake, we decided to take a look at where some of the major bracketologists have OSU as it stands right now, just ahead of two extremely tough games on the road at Iowa and home against Maryland.
Next … USA TODAY
USA TODAY Bracketology
USA TODAY has been a little more bullish on Ohio State than some of the others. Shelby Mast and Scott Gleeson do all of the analysis and seeding, and they have had the Buckeyes at a No. 6 seed for a couple of weeks now.
Seed: No. 6
Region: East
City: Albany
Opponent: No. 11 seed East Tennessee State
Next … ESPN’s Joe Lundardi
ESPN Bracketology with Joe Lunardi
Joe Lunardi has had Ohio State hanging around No. 8 or No. 7 over the last couple of weeks, but now has the Buckeyes up to a No. 6 seed based on a string of wins recently.
Seed: No. 6
Region: East
City: Albany
Opponent: No. 11 seed Arizona State
Next … Jerry Palm of CBS Sports
CBS Sports Bracketology with Jerry Palm
Jerry Palm has adjusted Ohio State ever so slightly as well, now putting them also up to a No. 6 seed from what was a No. 7 seed recently.
Seed: No. 6
Region: West
City: St. Louis
Opponent: No. 11 seed Utah State
Next … Mike DeCourcy of FOX College Hoops
FOX College Hoops Bracketology with Mike DeCourcy
Mike DeCourcy has had Ohio State down on average a seed line from most of his colleagues. I’m not sure why since Ohio State’s NET Rankings and KenPom ratings along with Quad 1 wins have still been very, very good, but he must be taking more stock in the conference record and January issues. Regardless, he still has OSU solidly in the field.
Seed: No. 7
Region: Midwest
Opponent: No. 10 seed Saint Mary’s
Those are the bracketologists we’ve been keeping an eye on, and will continue to do so. Things look good for Ohio State right now, but it needs to finish strong to stay away from bubble territory and to get a good seed and location for its first round.
We’ll continue to take a weekly look at these projections as the sands of the hourglass continue to run out on the regular season and into the conference tournaments. It’ll all lead up to selection Sunday when we get the official bracket reveal.
