Coming into Friday afternoon, the Ohio State basketball team had won four straight games. It's the longest winning streak the team has had this season, as they have played their best basketball at the right time. After taking down Iowa on Thursday, they sealed their NCAA Tournament berth.
TTUN was the next team up for the Buckeyes. Ohio State had lost two previous games to the Wolverines this season, including one in which they were blown out the entire time. While not many people gave the Ohio State Buckeyes a shot to win this game, one OSU legend did.
Ohio State took the lead for the first time in the game late in the second half. Unfortunately, they weren't able to keep that lead for long. The Buckeyes ended up running out of gas, and they lost to Michigan in heartbreaking fashion, 71-67.
Where the Ohio State basketball team will be seeded int he NCAA Tournament
Coming into the game against TTUN, Joe Lunardi of ESPN has the Buckeyes as an eight-seed. Losing to the number-one seed in the Big Ten shouldn't hurt their seeding much, especially by falling by so few points. They will likely sit around that eight or nine-seed line.
Even though Ohio State lost, this game showed that they can compete with anyone in the country. They also had to play this game without Taison Chatman, who was injured in the Iowa game. Brandon Noel also played his first game in two months, so that gives them another player to put in the rotation if they want.
Jake Dieler accomplished his goal of putting the Buckeyes back into the NCAA Tournament. Now, he has to help them win some games in the Big Dance. If Ohio State is an eight or nine-seed, that means winning that game would see them take on a number-one seed.