Ohio State basketball: Who to root for in March Madness

The Ohio State basketball team will not be participating in March Madness this season after finishing under .500. The Buckeyes will be at home watching just like everyone else. Since the Buckeyes aren’t in the NCAA Tournament this year, who should you root for?

Personally, I will be rooting for as much chaos as possible. Without the Buckeyes in it, I don’t feel any pressure watching any of these games. I can’t lose as a fan, so I want as many upsets as possible. That makes the tournament as fun as possible in my eyes.

If you’re looking for a specific team to root for to win it all, I would take a look at Gonzaga. Even though the Buckeyes lost to them in the NCAA Tournament a few years ago, they still haven’t won it all. This is despite them being a powerhouse program every single year. They have a 3-seed this year and a pretty darn good team.

If you want to root for a Big Ten team, root for Michigan State as a 7-seed. Being a 7-seed, they would be inflicting a lot of chaos into the tournament if they were to win it all. Also, Tom Izzo is an excellent coach and deserves to win more than one national title in his career.

If there is a Cinderella you’re looking for, 10-seeded Utah State is a good one to root for. They made their conference tournament championship and ultimately fell to San Diego State by just five points. But they are a fun team to watch and have the easiest 2-seed to navigate in Arizona.

There you have it! A guide on who to root for as the tournament gets fully underway starting at 12:15 ET on Thursday. It should still be fun to watch even if the Ohio State basketball team isn’t participating.