Ohio State is in.
The Buckeyes heard their name called during Selection Sunday, as the scarlet and gray secured a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State is scheduled to take on No. 10 seed Loyola Chicago in the South Region of the tournament bracket in Pittsburgh in its first-round matchup Friday. The game will tip off at 12:15 p.m. Friday and will be televised on CBS.
Ohio State - YOU'RE IN!
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 13, 2022
Welcome to #MarchMadness, @OhioStateHoops! #SelectionSunday pic.twitter.com/zIEfYECih8
The Buckeyes lost four of their past five games before Selection Sunday, and were upset by Penn State in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament this past Thursday.
Loyola Chicago, ranked No. 23 in the NET rankings and No. 24 in KenPom, won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Sunday and enter the NCAA Tournament with a 25-7 record overall. As a No. 8 seed in the last year's tournament, the Ramblers got all the way to the Sweet 16 before losing to Oregon State.
If Ohio State gets past Loyola, it will play the winner of No. 2 seed Villanova and No. 15 seed Delaware. Arizona is the No. 1 seed in the South Region, and both Illinois (No. 4) and Michigan (No. 11) join the Buckeyes as Big Ten teams in the region.
The South Region!#SelectionSunday #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/itj3KRio7Z
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 13, 2022
Chris Holtmann has now been to the NCAA Tournament in four of his five years with Ohio State, and would have earned a berth in all five seasons if not for the 2019-20 tournament's cancellation due to COVID-19.
Ohio State's No. 7 seed is its lowest since 2018-19, when Holtmann's Buckeyes came in as a No. 11 seed before knocking off No. 6 seed Iowa State in the first round.
The Buckeyes were eliminated in the first round last season, when they ran into No. 15 Oral Roberts and dropped an overtime game as a No. 2 seed – the program's highest NCAA Tournament placement in eight seasons.
Under Holtmann, Ohio State has not won more than one game in the NCAA Tournament. The last time the Buckeyes won more than two games in the tournament was the 2012-13 season, when Thad Matta led Ohio State to the Elite Eight before losing to Wichita State.
We're Dancing!!
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) March 13, 2022
We take on Loyola Chicago in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as a 7 seed in Pittsburgh, PA.#Team123 #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/2Hm9vSHm91
