Despite limping to the finish line of the regular season followed by a loss to Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament, Ohio State is back in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 7 seed in the South Region.
Hoping to reach the program's first Sweet 16 since 2013, the Buckeyes need to get past No. 10 seed Loyola on Friday and presumably, No. 2 seed Villanova on Sunday.
As such, it'll be a tall task to achieve more than simply making the tournament and while that's nothing to sneeze at and more than good enough for many fans, Ohio State's basketball program does indeed sport solid history in the NCAA Tournament.
To get your ready for Friday's 12:15 p.m. tip in Pittsburgh, here's a primer for all things Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Ohio State became synonymous with the NCAA Tournament right off the bat reaching the first-ever national title game in 1939 before losing to Oregon in what was an eight-team field. The tournament featured eight teams through 1950 before expanding to 16 from 1951-1974.
It wasn't until 1975 the field expanded to 32 teams before the field doubled to 64 in 1985. The field would stick at 64 through the 2000 season before growing to 65 teams from 2001-2010. The current 68-team field was established in 2011 with the implementation of of the First Four, i.e. four teams really not all that worthy but hey might as well make some more money.
The term "March Madness" as a basketball reference dates back to the late 1930s but it wasn't associated with the NCAA Tournament until Brent Musberger used the term in 1982.
The "One Shining Moment" montage was born in 1987.
PROGRAM HISTORY
The official records call out 30 NCAA Tournament appearances for Ohio State but when you count vacated seasons, which most of you saw with your own eyes, the Buckeyes stand at 34 bids. The results of those 34 appearances shake out like this:
- 11 Final Fours (10 if you don't count 1999)
- 4 Runner Up finishes (1939, '61, '62, '07)
- 4 No. 1 seeds
- 5 No. 2 seeds
- 1 National Title (1960)
- Overall record: 57-33 (including a 6-4 mark across the four vacated seasons)
- Last win: March 22, 2019 - (11) Ohio State 62, (6) Iowa State 59
SINGLE-GAME SUPERLATIVES
| METRIC | RESULT | PLAYER | OPPONENT | SEASON |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| POINTS | 36 | JERRY LUCAS | WESTERN KENTUCKY | 1960 |
| REBOUNDS | 30 | JERRY LUCAS | KENTUCKY | 1961 |
| ASSISTS | 15 | AARON CRAFT | GEORGE MASON | 2011 |
| MADE 3-POINTERS | 7 | DAVID LIGHTY, JON DIEBLER | GEORGE MASON, USCB | 2011, 2010 |
| STEALS | 6 | AARON CRAFT | IONA | 2013 |
| BLOCKS | 8 | DALLAS LAUDERDALE | UCSB | 2010 |
OTHER NOTABLE INDIVIDUAL BUCKEYE PERFORMANCES
This list could be even longer depending on your criteria but here's 26 top individual performances in Ohio State's Dance history.
| YEAR | PLAYER | PERFORMANCE |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | JERRY LUCAS | BIG MAN GOES OFF FOR 36 POINTS AND 25 BOARDS IN A WIN OVER W. KENTUCKY |
| 1961 | JERRY LUCAS | THROWS UP A MODEST 33 POINTS AND 30 REBOUNDS IN A VICTORY OVER KENTUCKY |
| 1962 | JERRY LUCAS | KENTUCKY AGAIN, 33 POINTS AND 15 REBOUNDS IN A BUCKEYE WIN |
| 1962 | JOHN HAVLICEK | 25 POINTS AND 16 RIPS IN A WIN OVER WAKE FOREST |
| 1968 | BILL HOSKET | BASELINER GOES FOR 18 POINTS AND 20 BOARDS IN A WIN OVER E. TENNESSEE |
| 1968 | STEVE HOWELL | 26 POINTS AND 13 REBOUNDS IN A VICTORY OVER HOUSTON IN 3RD PLACE GAME |
| 1971 | LUKE WITTE | POSTS 23 POINTS AND 17 REBOUNDS IN A LOSING EFFORT AGAINST W. KENTUCKY |
| 1980 | HERB WILLIAMS | CENTER PUTS UP 25 POINTS AND NINE BOARDS IN A WIN OVER ARIZONA STATE |
| 1980 | KELVIN RANSEY | SLICK BALL-HANDLER AND SCORER GOES FOR 29 IN A LOSS TO UCLA |
| 1987 | DENNIS HOPSON | PURE SCORE SPLASHES 32 POINTS IN WIN OVER KENTUCKY THE DAY AFTER WOODY DIED |
| 1992 | JIM JACKSON | SWISS-ARMY KNIFE PUTS UP 23 POINTS, 16 RIPS AND 6 ASSISTS IN WIN OVER UCONN |
| 1999 | MICHAEL REDD | LEFTY TALLIES 27 POINTS, 5 BOARDS AND 4 ASSISTS IN VICTORY OVER MURRAY STATE |
| 1999 | SCOONIE PENN | HEART AND SOUL POURS IN 26 ON A BAD ANKLE TO BEAT NO. 1 SEED AUBURN |
| 1999 | SCOONIE PENN | LOGS 22 POINTS WITH 8 BOARDS AND 8 DIMES TO BEAT ST. JOHN'S, REACH FINAL FOUR |
| 2002 | BRIAN BROWN | GUARD BLOWS UP FOR 33 POINTS ON 13/19 SHOOTING AS OSU HANDLES DAVIDSON |
| 2007 | RON LEWIS | SENIOR GOES OFF FOR 27 INCLUDING "THE SHOT" TO FORCE OT IN A WIN OVER XAVIER |
| 2007 | RON LEWIS | SPLASHY FROM 3, HE GOES FOR 25 TO HELP ERASE A 20-POINT DEFICIT TO BEAT TENNESSEE |
| 2007 | GREG ODEN | THE FRESHMAN BIG MAN PUTS IT ALL TOGETHER IN A 25/12 EFFORT IN LOSS TO FLORIDA |
| 2009 | EVAN TURNER | LOGS 50 MINUTES IN 2OT LOSS TO SIENNA, GOING FOR 25 POINTS, 9 BOARDS AND 8 DIMES |
| 2010 | EVAN TURNER | POSTS A NEAR-TRIPLE-DOUBLE WITH 25, 9 AND 9 IN A 75-66 WIN OVER GEORGIA TECH |
| 2010 | EVAN TURNER | OSU LOSES TO TENNESSEE DESPITE 31 POINTS, 7 REBOUNDS AND 5 ASSISTS FROM ET |
| 2012 | DESHAUN THOMAS | DT EXPLODES FOR 31 AND 12 IN A 78-59 WIN OVER LOYOLA, MD |
| 2015 | D'ANGELO RUSSELL | DESPITE A GASH OVER LEFT EYE, 0 PUTS UP 28 POINTS ON 10/20 SHOOTING WITH 6 ASSISTS |
| 2018 | KEITA BATES-DIOP | KBD THROWS IN 28 DURING A 6-POINT LOSS TO GONZAGA |
| 2019 | KALEB WESSON | THE BIG MAN RECORDS 21 POINTS, 12 RIPS AND 3 ASSISTS IN OSU'S LAST TOURNEY WIN |
| 2021 | E.J. LIDDELL | FORWARD DOES IT ALL WITH 23 POINTS, 14 BOARDS AND 5 DIMES IN OT LOSS |
Here's hoping E.J. Liddell and/or Malaki Branham can add a few more worthy entries to this chart - in winning performances.
HOLTMANN'S HISTORY
Friday's game against Loyola will tip off Holtmann's seventh NCAA tournament appearance across eight seasons at the Division I level with the only hole coming via the pandemic's cancellation of the 2020 edition.
Holtmann's career Dance record stands at 6-6 with the lone two-win tournament appearance coming in 2017 as Butler reached the Sweet 16 with victories over 13-seed Winthrop and 12-seed Middle Tennessee State before the 4th-seeded Bulldogs fell to No. 1 seed North Carolina, 92-80, in Memphis.
Across his six appearances, Holtmann's teams averaged an overall tournament seed of 22.8 with a regional seed average of 6.2. Last year's No.2-seeded Buckeyes stand as his best seed with Ohio State's 11-seed in 2019 as the worst.
| SEASON | PROGRAM | OVERALL & REGION SEED | WINS | LOSSES | RECORD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | BUTLER | 23 OVERALL | 6 REGION | (11) TEXAS (56-48) | (3) NOTRE DAME (67-64) | 1-1 |
| 2015-16 | BUTLER | 34 OVERALL | 9 REGION | (8) TEXAS TECH (71-61) | (1) VIRGINIA (77-69) | 1-1 |
| 2016-17 | BUTLER | 13 OVERALL | 4 REGION | (13) WINTHROP (76-64), (12) MTSU (74-65) | (1) N. CAROLINA (92-80) | 2-1 |
| 2017-18 | OSU | 20 OVERALL | 5 REGION | (12) SDSU (81-73) | (4) GONZAGA (90-84) | 1-1 |
| 2018-19 | OSU | 41 OVERALL | 11 REGION | (6) IOWA STATE (62-59) | (3) HOUSTON (74-59) | 1-1 |
| 2020-21 | OSU | 6 OVERALL | 2 REGION | N/A | (15) ORAL ROBERTS (75-72) | 0-1 |
Holtmann's teams are 2-5 when facing higher-seeded teams and 4-1 versus teams with worse seeds.
SHORT ON EXPERIENCE
If Holtmann's Buckeyes are to advance past the opening weekend, they'll no doubt need Liddell and Branham to carry the load.
For his part, Liddell showed he was ready for the big stage last season when he logged 39 minutes in Ohio State's overtime loss to Oral Roberts and contributed 23 points, 14 rebounds and six assists.
After Liddell however, Holtmann's roster sports very little NCAA Tournament experience. In fact, the rest of the roster boasts just 79 minutes of Dance exposure with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
| PLAYER | GAMES | MIN | FG/FGA | 3FG/3FGA | REB | ASST | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KYLE YOUNG | 2 | 27 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| JIMMY SOTOS | 1 | 24 | 2/2 | 1/1 | 7 | 2 | 5 |
| JUSTIN AHRENS | 2 | 22 | 2/5 | 1/4 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| ZED KEY | 1 | 6 | 2/4 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Kyle Young logged 27 minutes of NCAA tourney experience across two different seasons but has yet to record a point.
Believe it or not, Jimmy Sotos slots behind Liddell in tournament production thanks to a 24-minute, five-point, seven-rebound, two-assist performance for Bucknell against Michigan State back in 2018.
Justin Ahrens played 21 minutes against Oral Roberts last year and chipped in five points and three boards. In 2019, he played one minute, posting a trillion, in a 74-59 loss to Houston.
Zed Key logged six minutes and four points against the Golden Eagles last season.
That's it. That's the list. Tournament experience doesn't guarantee anything but for a team with so many veterans, it's wild.
GOOD VIBES
Here's an epic comeback and a couple daggers for the sake of positive mojo.
Boy you sure hate to see bad things happen to such a quality individual like Bruce Pearl.
LaQuinton Ross, y'all.
And that's Aaron Craft breaking Iowa State's heart the week before Q Ross got loose.
In closing,I'd like to proclaim Sister Jean sucks and Ohio State wins by 5 on Friday (but can't get past Villanova on Sunday).
