Ohio State is heading west.
The Buckeyes (24-8) were selected as a No. 5 seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday and will travel to Boise, Idaho to take on No. 12 seed South Dakota State in the first round of the Big Dance on Thursday. Tip-off is scheduled for approximately 4 p.m., and will be televised on TNT, following the game between No. 4 Gonzaga and No. 13 UNC Greensboro.
According to The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach, Ohio State was the No. 20 overall seed, making the Buckeyes the final team on the No. 5 seed line.
Heres the NCAA tournaments seed list: pic.twitter.com/Kx4MYyVZof
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) March 11, 2018
The trip out west will be the second in as many trips to the NCAA Tournament for Ohio State. The Buckeyes traveled to Portland, Ore., for the first round of the 2015 tournament, defeating No. 7 seed VCU in the opening game before falling to No. 2 seed Arizona in the second round, 73-58.
Should the Buckeyes defeat the Jackrabbits in the first round, Ohio State will play the Gonzaga/UNC Greensboro winner in the second round. Should they win two games in Boise, the Buckeyes will advance to the West regional in Los Angeles.
Xavier, North Carolina and Michigan are the top three seeds in the West region.
The Buckeyes are one of four Big Ten teams in the Big Dance, along with Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue. The four No. 1 seeds in this year's tournament are Virginia, Villanova, Kansas and Xavier.
The full bracket can be seen below:
Here's your official 2018 NCAA Tournament Bracket. pic.twitter.com/dSiLrzyNYc
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 11, 2018
