Will Ohio State men's basketball make the NCAA Tournament?
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Ohio State men's basketball team go into Selection Sunday feeling bleak as it looks like it will miss the NCAA Tournament for a third straight season.
The 68-team men's March Madness field will be announced at 6 p.m. and the Buckeyes are an outside bubble team going into the selection show. Despite resume boosting wins over Kentucky, Purdue, Maryland, and Texas, head coach Jake Diebler's side finished 10th in the Big Ten standings with a 9-11 record and fell in the opening round of the conference tournament to Iowa.
This story will be updated throughout the Selection Show this evening and will include a full bracket.
Most analysts don't have the Buckeyes making the NCAA Tournament. Should the committee not select the Buckeyes, it would mark the first time since the late 1990s that the program missed three consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
Ohio State could still play postseason basketball with two other tournaments set to take place during March and April. The Buckeyes could play in the National Invitation Tournament for a second straight year after making the quarterfinals last season. Another option is the new College Basketball Crown tournament, which takes place from March 31 to April 6 in Las Vegas and must include at least two Big Ten programs.
The Big Ten is expected to get between eight to ten teams in this year's NCAA Tournament, which begins on Tuesday in Dayton with the First Four round. Amongst the teams in contention to get a No. 1 seed is Atlantic Coast Conference champions Duke, Big 12 champions Houston, Auburn, Florida, and Tennessee from the Southeastern Conference, and Big East champions St. John's.
Cleveland is also scheduled to host tournament games with first and second round contests on March 21 and 23 at Rocket Arena. The tournament concludes on April 7 with the national championship game in San Antonio, Texas. Connecticut will enter March Madness as the two-time defending champions.