Ohio State will go to Indiana this weekend with a chance to further solidify itself on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble.
At 17-13 overall and 9-10 in the Big Ten, the Buckeyes will face another bubble team in the Hoosiers, who are 18-12 and 9-10, respectively. Both teams are hovering right around the projected cut line for the NCAA Tournament.
Ohio State has won two straight games. After winning at USC 87-82 on Feb. 26, the Buckeyes took down Nebraska 116-114 in double overtime on Tuesday night in the highest-scoring game in Ohio State history.
The game between the Buckeyes and the Hoosiers will also decide each team’s seed for the Big Ten Tournament.
Here’s where the Buckeyes sit in the major bracketology projections:
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Ohio State basketball standing in latest bracketology
According to the USA Today update published Friday, the Buckeyes have narrowly climbed back into position to avoid the First Four. Ohio State is listed as a No. 11 seed but is not among the last four teams to be selected.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, in his Friday update, has moved Ohio State into a first-round bye after having it first on the list of the last four teams in the field in Tuesday’s update. As a No. 10 seed, Lunardi has the Buckeyes playing No. 7 seed BYU in Lexington, Kentucky.
The winner of that game would face the winner of a game between No. 2 seed Alabama and No. 15 seed South Alabama.
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CBS’ Jerry Palm has moved Ohio State up from no longer being listed as a bubble team in last week’s update to third among the final four teams included in this Friday’s bracket update. As a No. 11 seed, Palm has Ohio State playing fellow No. 11 seed Boise State in a First Four game.
In a Wednesday update, The Athletic has Ohio State as a No. 11 seed playing No. 6 seed Louisville in Wichita but avoiding the First Four as the final at-large team to earn a bye.
BracketMatrix.com, which compiles dozens of bracket projections, has Ohio State as a No. 11 seed. Eighty-nine of the 105 projections now include the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes are No. 35 in the NET rankings used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee to evaluate resumes and seed the field. Ohio State is 6-10 in Quad 1 games, 3-3 in Quad 2 and has no losses outside the first two quadrants.
As of Friday morning, BartTorvik.com gives Ohio State a 60.4% chance of making the NCAA Tournament. Prior to the USC game, that number was 39.5%.
