Ohio State will play in the college basketball postseason this year.
After missing out on the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, the Buckeyes accepted a bid to the NIT as a No. 2 seed and will host seventh-seeded Cornell in the first round on Tuesday in Value City Arena.
Let's play some more basketball, shall we?
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) March 18, 2024
We've officially accepted an invite to the NIT and will enter as a #2 seed, hosting the Cornell Big Red in the first round.@NITMBB | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/daZagBCTWj
Even a bid to the best-of-the-rest college basketball tournament seemed unlikely for Ohio State a mere month ago. The Buckeyes fired head coach Chris Holtmann on Feb. 14 after losing nine of 11 games to fall to 14-11 on the season, holding a meager 3-10 record in Big Ten play.
Ohio State battled back to earn a clear NIT bid after closing out the season with wins in six of its final eight games, including a five-game winning streak that lasted through a second-round Big Ten Tournament win over Iowa. Other highlights included a stunning upset of then-No. 2 Purdue and a buzzer-beater victory at Michigan State to snap a program-worst 17-game road losing streak.
The Buckeyes' chances for a bid to the Big Dance were wiped out when they fell to No. 13 Illinois in the quarterfinals of the conference tourney, but the run reinvigorated many Ohio State fans and proved enough to make interim head coach Jake Diebler the squad's full-time head coach moving forward.
"I’m just happy everybody else got to see what was in this locker room, what they’re capable of, because my belief in them has never waivered," Diebler said after the defeat. "We understand that things may not have gone the way any of us anticipated, certainly, a stretch of the season, but we have great players in here who care so much about this program."
Ohio State announced Diebler's promotion officially on Sunday. He and several players expressed an interest in the NIT following the Illinois loss, though they stated a need to discuss as a team. With the Ohio native now trying to develop and build his outfit out for next season, the decision to participate became even clearer.
"I’ve had a lot of fun with this group and these guys are a joy to coach," Diebler said. "I think, if we do play, there’s a championship to be won. And I know the competitive spirit of this group. So I would anticipate, if that’s the case, they’ll be ready to go."
Ohio State failed to make the NIT after its 16-19 finish a season ago. Its last appearance came in 2016 in Thad Matta's penultimate year, then his first time missing the NCAA Tournament since 2008. The Buckeyes lost to Florida in the second round.
Ohio State won the NIT Championship under Matta in 2008, one season after finishing as national runner-up in the NCAA Tournament and seeing three of its freshmen – Greg Oden, Mike Conley and Daequan Cook – taken in the first round of the 2007 NBA draft.
The Buckeyes and Cornell will tip off at 7 p.m. on Tuesday on ESPN2.
If the Buckeyes defeat Cornell, they will host a second NIT game against the winner of the first-round game between No. 3 seed Virginia Tech and Richmond on either Saturday or Sunday.
Regional rivalries. The defending champ. All sorts of play styles.
— NITMBB (@NITMBB) March 18, 2024
The 2024 bracket has it all. #nit2024 pic.twitter.com/1HVJHEKgKm
