Teams to root for today in college basketball with Ohio State on the bubble
By Jacob Rhymer
The Ohio State basketball team picked up their 20th win of the season last night after beating Iowa in their first game of the Big Ten Tournament. Today they will get another rematch from a game earlier in the season when the Buckeyes meet Illinois in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
A win today over Illinois would significantly increase Ohio State’s chances of securing an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. They could still get some help from other teams in college basketball today as well. Let’s get into who their fellow bubble teams are, and who to root for on today’s college basketball conference tournament slate.
In the ACC there are two bubble teams playing today in the semifinals of their conference tournament. Pitt will play the number-one seed in the ACC Tournament, North Carolina, tonight on one side of the bracket. On the other side, Virginia is on the bubble and will face NC State who is coming off a huge upset over Duke.
The SEC has a team on the bubble in a big game tonight in their conference tournament. Texas A&M faces Kentucky in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament after knocking out Ole Miss last night. What hurts Ohio State's chances with this game is that they played Texas A&M at the beginning of the season and lost on their home floor.
The semifinals of the Big East Tournament features a massive match-up in Madison Square Garden between Marquette and Providence. Providence upset Creighton last night in the quarterfinals which helps their chances at getting off the bubble and a lock for the NCAA Tournament. Marquette is likely without their best player, Tyler Kolek, and that increases Providence's chances of winning this game and advancing to the championship game.
The last bubble team to watch tonight is New Mexico taking on Colorado State in the Mountain West Tournament. New Mexico has a handful of impressive wins on the season with how good the Mountain West has been this year. However, the Buckeyes need a Colorado State victory tonight to increase their chances.
So, if you're a Buckeye basketball fan and want teams to root for tonight to help Ohio State, it's North Carolina, NC State, Kentucky, Marquette, and Colorado State. Obviously, Ohio State needs to focus on themselves tonight first. A win over Illinois and advancing to the semifinals would be huge for the Buckeyes, but a loss doesn't help anything. Getting some help from other teams eliminating the bubble teams ahead of Ohio State would help the Buckeyes climb up the bubble standings.
Next. Ohio State basketball players who need to shine for a deep Big Ten Tournament run. Ohio State basketball players who need to shine for a deep Big Ten Tournament run. dark
The Ohio State basketball team is fighting to keep their season alive. They've reached 20 wins on the season and have won six of their last seven. It's unsure if that is enough for the Ohio State basketball team to make it into the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid. If they can win tonight and go into the weekend with momentum, they could make it in without any help.