Around the Oval: Women's Hockey Earns No. 1 Seed, Women's Basketball and Men's Hockey Await NCAA Tournament Bids

No. 1 Overall Seed

Not only did the Buckeyes win the WCHA tournament title game on Sunday with their thrilling comeback overtime victory over No. 1 Minnesota, but they also secured the No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.

NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed for the first time in program history
Hosting NCAA Tournament games for the first time #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/siyQCOy3vv

— Ohio State Women's Hockey (@OhioStateWHKY) March 7, 2022

As one of the top-four seeds in the NCAA Tournament, Ohio State will serve as a host site for one of the four NCAA regionals for the first time in program history.

The Buckeyes will face the winner of the first-round Thursday evening matchup between Quinnipiac and Syracuse on Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Ohio State Ice Rink.

Should Ohio State advance past the regional round, the Buckeyes will move on to the NCAA Tournament Final Faceoff, which will be held March 18-20 at Pegula Ice Arena at Penn State.

Waiting Game

While the women's team is the No. 1 overall seed and had no stress at all during the selection show as an automatic qualifier, the men's hockey team is not nearly as lucky.

Ohio State probably would have punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a win over Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals this weekend, but after dropping a three-game series to the Nittany Lions 2-1, the Buckeyes might have to sweat a little.

Before this weekend's games, USCHO gave Ohio State a greater than 85 percent chance to make the NCAA Tournament field. But after the loss to Penn State, those odds likely took a bit of a hit as  Ohio State currently sits at No. 15 in the Pairwise standings, which is squarely on the bubble with 16 teams making the NCAA Tournament.

With Ohio State's season now over, all the Buckeyes can do is watch and await the bracket reveal on March 20 at 6:30 p.m.

In, But Where?

Unlike the men's hockey team, the Ohio State women's basketball team will not have to stress about whether or not it's in the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes are safely in the field, it's just a matter of where they will be seeded.

After this weekend's loss to Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament semfinals, Ohio State is projected as a No. 6 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament by ESPN's bracketology, down from the No. 5 seed they were projected before the tournament.

The Buckeyes will learn their seed and opponent during the NCAA Tournament selection show on Sunday at 8 p.m.