Ohio State Basketball: This Really Is ‘March Madness’
A different kind of ‘March Madness’.
Following a poor Big Ten season and then a terrible loss to Rutgers in the conference tournament, it was obvious that Ohio State wasn’t going to be invited to the NCAA Tournament. But when the Buckeyes weren’t even invited to play in the NIT yesterday, that was disappointing to say the least. It really is “March Madness” if you are a Buckeye fan.
Ohio State had played in one of the two postseason tournaments for 10 straight years, with 8 trips to the NCAA tournament and two appearances in the NIT. The only season the Buckeyes didn’t play in either of the two tournaments under coach Thad Matta was in 2004-05, when they were ineligible for postseason play.
Now the streak is over. What makes that especially disappointing is, the Buckeyes still had a chance of making the NCAA tournament even after playing poorly the first two-thirds of the Big Ten schedule.
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Pundits said if Ohio State finished 4-2 and won a couple of games in the Big Ten tournament, the Buckeyes had a chance to make “The Dance”. Instead, they lost three of their next five games so an NCAA bid was out of play unless they won the conference tournament.
But with a win over Indiana at home in the regular season finale, or by defeating Rutgers in the Big Ten Tournament, Ohio State would still make the NIT. The Buckeyes layed an egg in both games and will now be watching the tournament action from home.
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What gives this March a special kind of “madness” for Ohio State fans isn’t necessarily that their team won’t be playing anymore this season, but why they won’t be. Instead of the Buckeyes scratching and clawing in an attempt to make the NCAA Tournament or the NIT, the season just ended in a whimper. That’s something Buckeye fans are not used to seeing.