What a difference one year makes.
Last season, there was no drama on Selection Sunday – at least in terms of Ohio State's NCAA Tournament chances.
If the Buckeyes were anywhere near the bubble, that bubble was popped when they fell 96-92 to Indiana in their regular season finale, and any slim chance at an automatic bid ended with a 66-57 loss to Rutgers in their first Big Ten Tournament game.
Ohio State finished the season just 17-15 overall and 7-11 in conference play with three losses against teams rated outside of the KenPom top 100, including Florida Atlantic, which finished the season rated No. 271.
It wasn't a resume worthy of an NCAA Tournament bid. In fact, it wasn't even worthy of an NIT Tournament bid. After one of the worst Buckeye basketball seasons in recent memory, the Buckeyes knew their tournament fate well before the field was announced. There were no surprises on Selection Sunday.
A year later, Ohio State will have a stress-free Selection Sunday for a completely different reason – the Buckeyes are in.
On Sunday evening, Ohio State will officially end its two-year sabbatical from the NCAA Tournament when the field is announced on ESPN, adding another accomplishment to an already overachieving season.
When Chris Holtmann took the reins of the program in June, the Buckeyes had just seven scholarship players and had just lost their top-three scorers from the previous season. There was certainly optimism after his hire, but nearly everyone agreed that the turnaround would be slow.
Well, I guess it just depends on your definition of slow.
Ohio State lost three games during the first portion of non-conference play, seemingly signifying what most expected – it would be a season full of fun an optimism, but ultimately many road blocks. But then the Buckeyes started winning.
It started with a 25-point win on the road against Wisconsin followed by a 20-point comeback against Michigan. Ohio State blasted a trio of overmatched teams the next three games before a loss to North Carolina seemed to once again knock the team back into reality. But then more winning happened.
Heading into selection Sunday, the Buckeyes aren't just in the tournament, they have their best tournament resume in five years.
Just two weeks after falling to the Tar Heels, the Buckeyes absolutely thumped top-ranked Michigan State 80-64 and then won their next five games to begin a perfect 9-0 in Big Ten play. A snag came against Penn State, ending the team's conference winning streak, but Ohio State still managed to knock off No. 3 Purdue on the road just over two weeks later to take sole control of first place in the conference.
There were more hiccups against Penn State and Michigan before all was said and done, but heading into selection Sunday, the Buckeyes aren't just in the tournament, they have their best tournament resume in five years.
Ohio State has wins against three teams ranked in the top six in the latest KenPom ratings, and all eight of its losses have come against teams rated as KenPom top-30 teams, and three against top-10 teams.
After a season like that, selection Sunday is more of a celebration than it is a stress-inducer, and the Buckeyes seem to be treating it as such, inviting fans to the Schottenstein Center to learn their NCAA Tournament fate along with them.
Now, despite the celebratory vibe, there's still plenty to worry about on Sunday night, including the team's seed, region and matchup, but one thing is for sure: Selection Sunday is a whole lot more fun knowing you're in, than it is knowing you're out.
