Tournament bound Buckeyes?

Let me first start out saying how fun it was Sunday to brave 20 inches of snow (much of which was still on the interstates) to arena hop. First it was the OSU men's basketball game which started at noon, then it was of to Nationwide to see the Jackets take on the Lightning. Both teams won!

Sunday's win against the Michigan State Spartans was no doubt a huge boost for the Bucks. And you could tell there was a certain level of enthusiasm. The biggest monkey was off their back: a win against a top 20 team. So with two wins in a row against top 20 teams, you would have to feel pretty good... not so fast my friend (sorry Lee Corso). First I want you to resort to one of my previous blogs referring to the team needing 20, possibly 21 wins to reach the tournament. It still holds true. Here is why:

First off, if for some odd reason conference tournaments were not played, then there is a good chance this team could get in with the 19 wins they have now. However, unexpected things happen. For instance, who watched last night's Gonzaga/San Diego game? Believe it or not, you should have cheered for Gonzaga like you did when Oklahoma played Missouri in football? And I am pretty sure almost all of Buckeye Nation became Sooners for a day. San Diego won that game thus receiving an automatic birth to the NCAA Tournament. Would have San Diego gotten in without winning the WCC? No. Did the Zags have to win to go to the tournament? No. What if Ohio State was the last team in the tournament as of yesterday? Yup, bye bye NCAA's and hello NIT.

Ok, so that is one for instance. But this is just the start of that crazy tournament week. What if Butler loses tonight to Cleveland State? You know the Bulldogs are complete locks for the tournament? But are the Vikings? No, they need the win to get in. Another at-large bid gone if that game doesn't go in the Buckeyes favor. Another example is Southern Alabama losing last night. Most people still have S-Bama reaching the tournament, but now either Western Kentucky or Middle Tennessee State will get the auto bid.

So essentially the Buckeyes need to steal away an at-large bid from a major conference team. It wouldn't hurt if some teams right around of us like Oregon, Kentucky, or even UMass (assuming Xavier wins their conference) lose. So Friday is just like this past Sunday -- it is still a must win. Here are the odds of OSU reaching the tourney based on my observations:

OSU loses: 30%
OSU wins Friday: 55%
OSU wins Saturday: 85%
OSU wins Sunday: 99.9 (still a possibility the whole entire team doesn't make the grades, it has happened before)

So cheer on them Bucks, but also remember to cheer on Butler, Xavier, and Kent State this weekend.