NCAA Tournament March Madness
#42 Ohio St
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Projected seed: 11 (last four in)
Ohio State’s profile reads like a classic bubble resume because it pairs a handful of signature victories with enough damaging setbacks to make the committee cautious. A home win over UCLA and a neutral-site victory over West Virginia show the Buckeyes can beat quality opponents while road wins at Oregon and Northwestern demonstrate they can win away from Columbus. At the same time narrow defeats at Pittsburgh and in a neutral clash with North Carolina underscore competitiveness but losses to Illinois and Nebraska and road setbacks at Washington, at Michigan and at Wisconsin expose inconsistency and raise questions about the defense. With an offense that can carry games and a defense that has been uneven, the slate that remains — trips to Maryland, Michigan State and Iowa, home dates with Michigan, USC and Purdue and a neutral meeting with Virginia — gives Ohio State clear chances to improve its standing or to reinforce the committee’s caution.
| Date | Opponent | Ranking | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/3 | IUPUI | 324 | W118-102 |
| 11/7 | PFW | 220 | W94-68 |
| 11/11 | Appalachian St | 181 | W75-53 |
| 11/16 | Notre Dame | 84 | W64-63 |
| 11/20 | W Michigan | 264 | W91-58 |
| 11/25 | Mt St Mary's | 299 | W113-60 |
| 11/28 | @Pittsburgh | 101 | L67-66 |
| 12/6 | @Northwestern | 63 | W86-82 |
| 12/9 | Illinois | 5 | L88-80 |
| 12/13 | (N)West Virginia | 69 | W89-88 |
| 12/20 | (N)North Carolina | 29 | L71-70 |
| 12/23 | Grambling | 281 | W89-63 |
| 1/2 | @Rutgers | 146 | W80-73 |
| 1/5 | Nebraska | 12 | L72-69 |
| 1/8 | @Oregon | 105 | W72-62 |
| 1/11 | @Washington | 46 | L81-74 |
| 1/17 | UCLA | 39 | W86-74 |
| 1/20 | Minnesota | 80 | W82-74 |
| 1/23 | @Michigan | 1 | L74-62 |
| 1/26 | Penn St | 129 | W84-78 |
| 1/31 | @Wisconsin | 38 | L92-82 |
| 2/5 | @Maryland | 137 | 75% |
| 2/8 | Michigan | 1 | 20% |
| 2/11 | USC | 50 | 67% |
| 2/14 | (N)Virginia | 17 | 33% |
| 2/17 | Wisconsin | 38 | 60% |
| 2/22 | @Michigan St | 9 | 15% |
| 2/25 | @Iowa | 19 | 24% |
| 3/1 | Purdue | 8 | 31% |
| 3/4 | @Penn St | 129 | 74% |
| 3/7 | Indiana | 33 | 55% |