Getty Head coach Chris Holtmann of the Ohio State Buckeyes reacts as his team plays the Michigan State Spartans.
Chris Holtmann came to Columbus in 2018 looking to rejuvenate a program that grew stale late under Thad Matta. Just as Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith turned to a former Butler coach in Matta, he dipped into the same well with Holtmann.
During his 3 seasons at the small college in Indianapolis, Holtmann turned around a 14-17 team into a program that made 3 straight NCAA Tournaments. That included a pair of second-place finishes in the new Big East, as well as a Sweet 16 appearance in 2017.
The results followed him to Columbus, as he inherited a 17-15 bunch (and current Minnesota Timberwolves forward Keita Bates-Diop) and transformed it into a 25-9 outfit and No. 5 seed in March Madness.
A return trip to the tournament may be in the balance today. The Buckeyes are 18-12 (8-11 Big Ten) entering today’s regular-season finale versus No. 21 Wisconsin (4:30 p.m. EST, CBS). They need a quality win to help polish a flagging resume and will have to do it without star center Kaleb Wesson.
Let’s take a look at the latest at Ohio State’s bracketology outlook, along with its resume and a few key wins and losses that stand out.
Ohio State NCAA Tournament Resume
The Buckeyes have been hanging their hats on an opening game victory over current No. 20 Cincinnati. It’s certainly a good win, but the Bearcats aren’t exactly elite (No. 23 in the NET rankings). Wins over a bubble team in Creighton and a mess of a UCLA team don’t move the needle much. Otherwise, the non-conference was pretty weak.
The problems came immediately once Big Ten play resumed in January, as the Buckeyes dropped 5 straight. That included a loss at 14-16 Rutgers.
20-point routs over Iowa and Minnesota are fine, as well as a road triumph at fellow bubble team Indiana. Unfortunately, the Rutgers upset is paired with another by 11-20 Illinois.
Their latest showing was an 18-point drubbing at the hands of last-place Northwestern. It means Ohio State needs another quality W to offset the increasing pile of “bad” losses.
Ohio State Bracketology Breakdown
Heading into the weekend, ESPN’s John Gasaway stated that the Buckeyes are in “free fall”.
Iall season long this team has clung to its road win at Cincinnati in the first game of the season. That is indeed a great win, it’s just that OSU hasn’t been able to give that victory much in the way of company. The Buckeyes’ other Quad 1 wins were at Creighton, at Nebraska and at Indiana. That body of work might not be enough in the event of a loss to the Badgers and a quick, Wesson-less exit from the Big Ten tournament.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has Ohio State as one of his “Last Four Byes” in his latest Bracketology. This means a No. 11 seed and a trip to Tulsa against Auburn in the Midwest Regional. Should they upset the Tigers, they would face the winner of Texas Tech and Georgia Southern.
Jerry Palm of CBS Sports presents a similar scenario, bestowing a No. 11 seed in the West Regional. That means a matchup with Buffalo, and possible Round of 32 tilts with Houston or Georgia State. He did mention in his own Bubble Watch that time is running out to clinch a bid.
Maybe suspended Buckeyes star Kaleb Wesson should be the Big Ten MVP. Ohio State looks completely lost without him. After getting run out of Mackey Arena on Saturday, the Buckeyes lost to last place Northwestern in a game they were never in. It is one thing to lose, but another to fail to compete. Not all hope is lost, but time is running out.
Bracket Matrix aggregates several prognostications from across the internet. Georgetown appears on 90 of them, and averages out to either a 10 or 11-seed.
The path is pretty straight-forward. Beat the Badgers, and a bid is safe. Lose, and the Buckeyes will have to make sure they don’t drop one to someone like Rutgers, Penn State, Illinois or the like in the Big Ten Tournament.
Fall there, and Holtmann will likely miss his first March Madness in 4 seasons.