Ohio State’s 68-64 victory over Iowa on Feb. 28th was only their second win over a RPI top-50 opponent. – Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports Thad Matta’s team has 11 conference wins and the future looks bright in Columbus, but this year they don’t have enough of the type of wins you need to make the NCAA Tournament. They have an opportunity to change that this weekend but it will be a difficult road for the Buckeyes in Indianapolis. The Ohio State Buckeyes are a young basketball team who has won a lot of Big Ten basketball games this season, but unfortunately very few of those wins came against top competition. Because of this, the Buckeyes find themselves in an unprecedented situation where they will potentially need a total of at least 14 wins over Big Ten competition to have a chance at making the NCAA Tournament. Since Thad Matta took over as head coach at Ohio State, the Buckeyes have reached the Big Ten Tournament title game seven times in eleven seasons, truly an impressive mark. The Buckeyes won the championship four of those seven times. They will likely need to make a run to their 12th Big Ten championship appearance, otherwise the Buckeyes will miss out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008. The road to Sunday for Ohio State is not an easy one and they will have to do it without the services of sophomore Jae’Sean Tate, who underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in late February. Without Tate, let’s examine what their road map for the weekend looks like. …
Continue Reading: Ohio State Buckeyes Have One Final Weekend to Prove NCAA Tournament Worthiness
