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Ohio State Basketball: Buckeyes jump to five seed after win over Illinois

By David Wysong

COLUMBUS, OHIO - MARCH 05: E.J. Liddell #32 of the Ohio State Buckeyes dunks the ball in the game against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the first half at Value City Arena on March 05, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OHIO - MARCH 05: E.J. Liddell #32 of the Ohio State Buckeyes dunks the ball in the game against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the first half at Value City Arena on March 05, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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The Ohio State basketball team got a big win over 23-ranked Illinois on Thursday, and that big win potentially helped their seeding in the NCAA Tournament.

Yesterday I wrote about how the Ohio State basketball team could possibly improve its seeding in the NCAA Tournament with a win over Illinois on Thursday as it would be another quadrant two win. Well, they ultimately got the 71-63 win behind 19 points from Kaleb Wesson and 17 from E.J. Liddell, and it in fact helped their seeding.

Before the game, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had Ohio State as a six seed in the tournament. After the win, however, Lunardi now projects Ohio State to be a five seed.

A five seed is actually much better than a six seed. The six seeds will probably play the three seeds in the second round of the tourney and the three seeds are currently projected to be Kentucky, Duke, Michigan State, and Villanova. Those are pretty tough second round games. The five seeds, however, will probably play the four seeds in the second round which are currently projected to be Wisconsin, Maryland, Creighton, and Oregon – those sound much easier.

The Buckeyes can continue to improve their seeding too and maybe even get up to a three or four seed. In their final game of the regular season on Sunday, they must face Michigan State. The Spartans are currently ranked No. 16 in the country and have a seven NET score, according to BracketResearch.com, which means a win over them would be a quadrant one win for the Buckeyes.

Additionally, to win the Big Ten Tournament the Buckeyes could possibly face the likes of Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Maryland which would be three quadrant one wins as they all have NET scores better than 30, according to Bracket Research. If Ohio State wins out I certainly see them getting a three seed in the NCAA Tournament because of this.

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Ohio State just eased its path in the NCAA Tournament with the win over Illinois. They can now make it even easier with a win over Michigan State on Sunday and some wins in the Big Ten Tournament. Let’s hope they can get it done.

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