After not hearing its name called during the NCAA tournament selection special, Ohio State was forced to wait a couple hours for its postseason fate.
The Buckeyes will be playing in the NIT after a 20-13 season and Sunday night it was revealed they will be a No. 3 seed and host sixth-seeded Akron at 7p.m. on Tuesday. Should Ohio State defeat the Zips, it would play the winner of No. 2 seed Florida and seventh-seeded North Florida. The No. 1 seed in the Buckeyes' quadrant is Monmouth.
“We are excited about the opportunity to continue our season and appreciate the NIT committee for selecting Ohio State,” Buckeyes head coach Thad Matta said in a statement. “We have a young team who will surely benefit from the additional practice and competition. We need our fans to come out and support this team Tuesday at Value City Arena.”
Akron is 26-8 on the season and was the outright regular-season champions in the Mid-American Conference. The Zips were bounced from the MAC tournament in the finals by Buffalo.
This is the first time since the 2007-08 season Ohio State failed to make the NCAA tournament and just the second time under Matta when the program was postseason eligible. The Buckeyes went 19-13 back in 2008 prior to winning the NIT as a No. 1 seed.
The full 2016 NIT bracket, via CBS Sports, can be seen below.
