Ohio State's late-season run proved enough to get the Buckeyes a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
After winning five of six conference games under interim head coach Jake Diebler to close the year, the Buckeyes will be the tourney's No. 10 seed and play seventh-seeded Iowa in the second round at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Minneapolis. Big Ten Network will televise the game.
The #B1GMBBT bracket is set. pic.twitter.com/26VaSJB5cc
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 11, 2024
The Buckeyes finished in a three-way tie with Minnesota and Penn State for ninth in the conference. The Big Ten's first tiebreaker in such scenarios is the teams' round-robin records against each other, and the Gophers are a combined 3-1 against Penn State and Ohio State. The Buckeyes are 2-2 against Minnesota and Penn State while Penn State is 1-3 against Minnesota and Ohio State, locking OSU into the 10th spot.
The Buckeyes and Hawkeyes met once previously this season, with Iowa taking a tight tilt 79-77 in Iowa City. Seven players – three from Iowa and four from Ohio State – hit double-figures in the contest.
Ohio State enters the Big Ten Tournament with a 19-12 overall record and a 9-11 record in conference play. It closed its season on a four-game winning streak that included a win over the tourney's No. 3 seed, Nebraska, and three Quadrant 1 or 2 victories to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume.
Should the Buckeyes make it past Iowa in the second round of the tourney, they will rematch 12th-ranked Illinois, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, in the quarterfinals on Friday. Ohio State fell to the Fighting Illini 87-75 at home earlier this season.
