Ohio State basketball is scorching.
The Buckeyes have won eight of their last nine games and are now pegged as the No. 4 team in the country. As such, Chris Holtmann's squad is considered a virtual lock to be in the 2021 Big Dance, which, for the first time in history, will be played entirely in the state of Indiana.
#MarchMadness Scheduling Update!
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) January 19, 2021
March 18 - First Four
March 19/20 - First Round
March 21/22 - Second Round
March 27/28 - Sweet 16
March 29/30 - Elite 8
April 3 - Final Four
April 5 - National Championship
https://t.co/faeZsTVieb pic.twitter.com/0grpnEwAn4
While we won't officially know the Buckeyes' matchup until Selection Sunday on March 14, we can look at projections made by experts in the field of bracketology to look ahead and analyze some potential matchups for Ohio State.
ESPN: 1 Seed, vs. Texas State
ESPN's Joe Lunardi moves the Buckeyes to a No. 1 seed to take on the Texas State Bobcats who are currently leading the lackluster Sun Belt with a fairly unimpressive conference record of 7-3.
HEADLINES:
— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) February 9, 2021
Texas Tech and WVU are essentially playing for a No. 3 seed tonight in Lubbock.
VCU must win at Dayton to retain its newly acquired LAST TEAM IN status.
St. Johns could land in tomorrows projection with a win at Butler (and some help elsewhere). pic.twitter.com/rdjziyg4ol
Ohio State is pegged as a No. 1 seed by Lunardi for the first time this season after wins over Iowa and Maryland, joining arch-rival Michigan. The two teams considered favorites to win the NCAA Tournament – Gonzaga and Baylor – round out the other No. 1 seeds.
If the Buckeyes were to dispatch of Texas State as would be expected, they would have an intriguing second-round matchup against the winner of Clemson and Arkansas. Buckeyes-Tigers Round II? It's possible.
Some other noteworthy projections exist in there, though. Lunardi has Indiana in the tournament after its big win over Iowa, which would mark the first time Archie Miller reached the Big Dance in his fourth season with the Hoosiers.
In addition, Penn State, which is just 7-8, is listed as one of the "First Four Out." This suggests that Lunardi – like many others – thinks the Big Ten is the country's superior conference this year, which is also evident with him giving the Big Ten a country-leading nine bids.
CBS: 2 Seed, vs. Northeastern
CBS bracket guy Jerry Palm, unlike Lunardi, places the Buckeyes on the No. 2 seed, flipping the Buckeyes with Villanova, which Lunardi had as the best No. 2 seed. Now, the Wildcats are a No. 1 seed and the Buckeyes are a No. 2 seed.
New bracket - UNC last team in. Other bluebloods not so fortunate. https://t.co/XEz0eoKpRF
— Jerry Palm (@jppalmCBS) February 8, 2021
Palm has the Buckeyes playing a Northeastern team in the first round that is currently in first place in the Colonial Athletic Conference with a 7-1 conference record (8-6 overall). The Huskies lost to several Power Five teams during their out-of-conference slate, and split a home-and-home with UMass, marking their lone out-of-conference win.
If Ohio State were to dispatch of Northeastern as expected, Palm has them playing the winner of an intriguing matchup between Chris Mack's Louisville team and Eric Musselman's Arkansas squad.
SBNation: 1 Seed, vs. South Dakota
SBNation's Chris Dobbertean was the highest on the Buckeyes a week ago, placing them as a No. 2 seed even before their big road win over Iowa. He continued that trend this week, placing the Buckeyes as a No. 1 seed, facing off against South Dakota.
It looked unlikely for a time, but todays edition of @sbnation bracketology features a new No. 1 seed, along with three new at-large entrants, with two from the Big East. https://t.co/qU2OHKpzdZ pic.twitter.com/ICXduKkI4s
— Chris Dobbertean (@ChrisDobbertean) February 5, 2021
The Coyotes are currently in first place in the Summit League with a perfect 8-0 conference record (10-6 overall) under third-year head coach Todd Lee.
South Dakota's two out-of-conference wins are against South Dakota State in the "Dakota Classic," and a 40-point win over NAIA Mount Marty. Its losses include a seven-point defeat against Big Ten bottom-feeder Nebraska.
If Ohio State were to take care of South Dakota, Dobbertean has the team moving on to play the winner of a matchup between Louisville (whom we already mentioned) and Oklahoma State, who may not even be eligible for the tournament with a decision from the NCAA pending.
USA TODAY: 2 Seed, vs. UMBC
Shelby Mast, the official bracketologist for USA TODAY, is once again the lowest on the Buckeyes (tied with Palm this week), having the Buckeyes as a No. 2 seed, taking on UMBC.
UMBC, of course, is famous for its 2018 upset over No. 1 overall seeded Virginia, the first time that a No. 16 seed had ever defeated a No. 1 seed.
This year, the Retrievers – still under head coach Ryan Odom – find themselves at 11-4 (7-3 America East), with their only out-of-conference loss coming in an eight-point defeat on the road against Georgetown. UMBC is scary for their name, if nothing else.
If the Buckeyes were to stave off the upset, they would take on the winner of a matchup between BYU and Arkansas.
For what it's worth as well, Mast has North Carolina in, while leaving the Hoosiers and Terrapins out.
There are still about five weeks until Selection Sunday, but the Buckeyes continue to exceed expectations. Assuming they don't crater, this team has probably secured a top-four seed in the Big Dance and could stay as a No. 1 seed as we get closer.
A big matchup awaits against the Hoosiers on Saturday.
