After his post-game press conference following Ohio State's 76-67 loss to Michigan State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament Friday night, Buckeyes' head coach Thad Matta headed back toward his team's locker room.
It's not a long walk — it likely took Matta no more than two minutes to get from the press room to the locker room — but it gave him some time to think about what went wrong as the Spartans were able to carve up Ohio State in a dominant win.
Upon his arrival, Matta answered additional questions from reporters for about five minutes. Some relating to the game his team had just played, others in relation to the Buckeyes' status going forward.
In that short period of time it took to return to Ohio State's locker room, Matta appeared to regain some of his charm with the local media. He is usually friendly in his interactions, and despite the Buckeyes getting severely outplayed by Michigan State, Matta was his usual self when asked what seed he thought this year's team should be in the NCAA tournament.
"We're not a one seed?" Matta asked jokingly.
After some laughs, Matta continued, saying, "They’ll tell me about it (Sunday) and then I guess I’ll look at it, but I’m just going to chill out for a day and see what happens.”
That's the type of answer you'd expect from a coach. Deep down, they really don't care who they play or where they play. None of that is in their control. That's especially true this season since Ohio State isn't one of the top teams in the country and could wind up just about anywhere on the NCAA tournament's opening weekend.
“There’s no such thing as an easy route in the tournament. Your’e going to have to play great teams no matter where you go.”– Sam Thompson
“I don’t care where we end up," Buckeyes senior forward Sam Thompson said. "There’s no such thing as an easy road in the NCAA tournament."
Thompson's certainly right. Nothing comes easy in the Big Dance.
But Thompson's comments may have even more validity when you factor in where Ohio State is likely to fall come 6 p.m. when the bracket is officially revealed.
As it stands right now, most mock bracket selection experts have the Buckeyes as either a No. 8 or No. 9 seed. For example, ESPN's Joe Lunardi has Ohio State as the No. 8 seed in the South Region taking on ninth-seeded Georgia in its opening game. CBS' Jerry Palm has the Buckeyes as the No. 9 seed in the West Region facing eighth-seeded Cincinnati.
Predicting Ohio State's opponent is a difficult task. The seed may be something that's a little more assured. Teams with similar resumes to the Buckeyes include St. John's, Davidson, Dayton and N.C. State. All of those could be potential opponents for Ohio State in its opening game.
Because the Buckeyes seem to be destined for that eight-nine game, they'll be at the same location as one of the tournament's top-four seeds. Right now, there appear to be five teams fighting for those four spots: Kentucky, Villanova, Duke, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Because Ohio State is in the Big Ten, it likely won't be paired in the same opening-round site as the Badgers should they get a No. 1 seed. That means the Buckeyes would likely find themselves in Louisville, Pittsburgh or Charlotte if they wind up on the No. 8 or No. 9 line.
“There’s no such thing as an easy route in the tournament," Thompson said. "You're going to have to play great teams no matter where you go so I’m not anxious. We’ll regroup, we’ll get back to Columbus, we’ll handle business and we’ll get ready to go.”
Ohio State was the very first team knocked out of the Field of 64 last year when it fell to Dayton in heartbreaking fashion, 60-59, and much like last season, the Buckeyes' journey this year has had highs and lows.
Ohio State will hear its name called when the field is announced tonight. When play begins, the Buckeyes will be hoping for some different results than the ones they've been seeing on the court this season.
“We’re 0-0 just like every other team in the country is 0-0. Whatever happened between November and March 13 no longer matters," Thompson said. "It’s about who comes together, who plays their best basketball for the first three weeks. If we can be that team, we can make a special run at it.”
