Postseason play has arrived.
A day after Ohio State ended the regular season with a 73-68 loss to Illinois, the Big Ten finalized its men's basketball tournament bracket on Sunday with the Buckeyes locking in a No. 5 seed. The top-four seeds are No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Illinois, No. 3 Iowa and No. 4 Purdue.
The @bigten bracket is SET
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 8, 2021
Who's your pick to win it? pic.twitter.com/0YEsBpUvDh
Ohio State's 12-8 mark in conference play fell just short of earning a double-bye in the tournament. Instead, it gets one bye and will begin play in the second round on Thursday by taking on the winner of Wednesday's first-round showdown of 12th-seeded Northwestern and 13th-seeded Minnesota. That game will tip off at approximately 2 p.m. in Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium.
Both potential second-round opponents have wins against the Buckeyes on their resumés this season, but they've each endured recent bouts of poor play. The Wildcats are 8-14 overall and 5-13 within conference play, having responded to a 13-game losing streak by beating Minnesota and Maryland with a final home game against Nebraska on Sunday awaiting. Richard Pitino's Golden Gophers ended the regular season on a seven-game skid to finish 13-14 overall and 6-14 in the Big Ten.
Should the Buckeyes beat either Northwestern or Minnesota for their first win since Feb. 18, fourth-seeded Purdue – which beat them twice in the regular season – would be next in line to face them in the quarterfinals on Friday. Then, if Ohio State advanced one more round, it would likely get another shot at top-seeded Michigan in the semifinals on Saturday with a berth in the conference title game on the line.
The Big Ten tournament tips off on Wednesday with a pair of first-round games, then on Thursday the Buckeyes get underway. It'll wrap up at 3:30 p.m. Sunday with the conference championship leading into the NCAA tournament bracket reveal that evening.
