Ohio State men’s basketball spent most of this season on the bubble, but a hot stretch at the end that saw the Buckeyes win their final three games — including a win over No. 8 Purdue, the eventual Big Ten champs — plus a victory over Iowa in the B1G Tournament had them entering Selection Sunday firmly in the Field of 68.
The only question that remained is where they would be seeded and who would be their opponent. That was answered this afternoon, as No. 8 Ohio State is slated to take on No. 9 TCU
in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Buckeyes have drawn a spot in the East Region, where they would face off against No. 1 Duke (assuming the Blue Devils defeat Siena) should they advance to the Round of 32. The other top seeds in their quadrant of the bracket include No. 2 UConn, No. 3 Michigan State and No. 4 Kansas.
Opening Odds: Ohio State -2.5
Ohio State finished the season at 21-12, with a 12-8 mark in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes dropped some very winnable games out of conference, including losses to Pitt (67-66), North Carolina (71-70) and Virginia (70-66), but made up for in later in the year with ranked wins over Wisconsin and Purdue.
Jake Diebler’s group has of course been led by the program’s new all-time leading scorer in Bruce Thornton, who averaged 20.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.
The senior was massive for Ohio State down the stretch, averaging 22.6 points per game while shooting more than 57% from the floor over the team’s final eight games, including a 32-point outing against Michigan State and a 25-point, seven-assist performance in the season finale against Indiana.
At Thornton’s side are John Mobley Jr. and Amare Bynum. Mobley Jr. led the Big Ten in three-point shooting percentage at 41.8%, averaging 15.7 points per game and 3.1 three-pointers per contest. Bynum averaged 11.6 points over Ohio State’s final eight regular season games, as the freshman finished the year third on the team with 4.8 rebounds per game.
TCU finished the season at 22-11, sitting sixth in the Big 12 at 11-7 in-conference. Like Ohio State, the Horned Frogs closed out the year strong, rallying off six-straight victories — including a win over No. 10 Texas Tech — to end the regular season before falling to Kansas in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.
Jamie Dixon’s group is led by its forward duo, David Punch and Xavier Edmonds. Punch, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, led the Horned Frogs with 14.3 points per game to go along with a team-high 6.7 rebounds per contest. Edmonds, a 6-foot-8 junior, wasn’t too far behind with 12.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
Punch’s two highest-scoring games of the season came in the conference tournament, dropping a season-high 26 points against Oklahoma State and another 24 points against Kansas in a five-point loss. Edmonds’ best game was also a 26-point outing, this one against Kansas State back in February, posting a double-double with a 10-rebound effort against the Wildcats as well.
Ohio State sits at No. 29 in the NET rankings, finishing 4-11 against Quad-1 opponents but going 5-1 against Quad-2 opponents and 12-0 against Quad-3 and Quad-4 opponents. TCU ranks No. 39 in the NET, posting a 6-7 mark against Quad-1 opponents, a 7-2 record against Quad-2 opponents and a combined 9-2 mark against Quad-3 and Quad-4 opponents.
The two programs sit right next to each other in the NCAA’s Wins Above Bubble (WAB) rating, with the Buckeyes at No. 32 (2.96) and TCU at No. 33 (2.52).
Tipoff times have not yet been announced, but the game will be played at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.
All lines and odds are presented by FanDuel Sportsbook.
