Here’s where Ohio State sits nationally as it nears Big Ten midpoint
A season that has somehow had less flow and rhythm than one played amid daily COVID-19 testing and without fans is nearing the midpoint of Big Ten play for Ohio State.
Of course, that’s a milestone that should have come and gone already. When the No. 16 Buckeyes finish playing Maryland at Value City Arena on Sunday, it will mark their 10th game in league play despite a pair of postponements. Most recently, that included Thursday’s game with Iowa that has been postponed. Between that game and the two days in between the end of the regular season and start of the Big Ten tournament, Ohio State will have 29 days to play 11 conference games.
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It’s going to be a crunch. The Buckeyes will be the final team to reach the midpoint of league play. By the time the Buckeyes and Terrapins wake up Sunday morning, seven Big Ten teams will already have 12 league games completed. When it’s over, the Terrapins will also have 12 games down.
So before the schedule gets compressed, and Ohio State’s depth gets put to the test, here’s where the Buckeyes stand in the national rankings and projections.
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Where is Ohio State in the NCAA’s NET rankings?
As of Thursday night, the Buckeyes were ranked No. 18 nationally with a 13-5 overall record in the rankings used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee to sort teams based on resume.
All five losses are considered Quad 1 losses, and Ohio State is 3-5 in that quadrant. The Buckeyes are 2-0 in Quad 2 games, 5-0 in Quad 3 games and 3-0 in Quad 2 games. They are the third-highest Big Ten team in the rankings.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, others peg Ohio State as No. 5 seed
The Buckeyes are forecasted to participate in an opening-round Ohio battle by at least one prognosticator. In a Tuesday update to his Bracketology, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi lists Ohio State as a No. 5 seed playing its first-round game in Portland.
The projected opponent? No. 12 seed Toledo.
That seeding is the average of dozens of brackets compiled by BracketMatrix.com as well. Of the numerous bracket projections listed on the website, Ohio State is listed as high as a No. 4 seed and as low as a No. 7 seed.
In a bracket updated Sunday, CBS’ Jerry Palm has Ohio State as a No. 5 seed playing No. 12 seed Stanford in Pittsburgh. The Sporting News has the Buckeyes as a No. 6 seed.
What do the metrics think of Ohio State?
As of Thursday night, the Buckeyes were the No. 21 national team according to KenPom.com. They are No. 17 according to BartTorvik.com, but if you remove preseason biases from the formula they drop to No. 30.
Ohio State is also No. 16 according to KPI, a number that matches its ranking in the Associated Press top 25 poll.
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