Ohio State Basketball: What’s next for the Buckeyes?

The Big Ten Tournament has been cancelled, along with other major conference tournaments around the country. What’s next for the Buckeyes?

What a whirlwind of a day. As of this writing, the NBA, MLS, NHL, MLB and most NCAA conference tournaments have been suspended or cancelled due to growing concerns over the coronavirus. The Big Ten announced it is cancelling the conference tournament today.

First off, even though sports provide an outlet for many people to escape everyday life, our thoughts and prayers go out to all who have been affected by the coronavirus.

Now, a look at Ohio State’s situation if the NCAA Tournament is played. Unlike last year (when the Buckeyes needed to win at least one game), Ohio State was likely not going to move up or down too much based on tournament results.

Unless the Buckeyes went on a run to win the tournament they were likely locked somewhere around a 5 seed for the NCAA tournament. A run that included wins over Purdue, Michigan State and either Maryland or Wisconsin could have bumped Ohio State up some, but I think it would have taken all three wins to move up in the seeding.

Meanwhile, the biggest negative would have come from losing to the Boilermakers in the first game. Unless they lost game one, or won the tournament, the Buckeyes weren’t going to change their seeding much.

The biggest impact will be for teams on the bubble. Without having a chance to make a statement in the tournament, results will be solely dependent on what teams accomplished during the regular season.

This will help some teams (not giving teams that did not do enough in the regular season to win automatic births through conference tournaments) and hurt others (teams who need a signature victory or two).

Fortunately, Ohio State does not fit in either of those categories. So for now, the Buckeyes get to be proud of what they did during the regular season, and prepare for March Madness. If there is one.