It was a good weekend to be a fan of The Ohio State University. The Men’s Basketball team dominated the B1G Ten Tournament this weekend, culminating in a victory against Wisconsin today in the championship.
Ohio State has now won the conference tournament in three of the last four seasons, asserting their dominance in America’s toughest conference (arguably).
Today’s win pushed Ohio State all the way up to to be the no. 2 seed in the West region of the bracket. Some said the Buckeyes got lucky, seeing as their opening round games are going to be held in the friendly confines of Dayton, OH. What they aren’t looking at is the rocky road the Buckeyes will have to take to get to the Sweet 16 and further on in the tournament.
Barring a catastrophic performance against their opening round game against Iona College, the Buckeyes will go on to face the winner of no. 7 Notre Dame and no. 10 Iowa State. It’s assumed that the Fighting Irish will prevail against the Cyclones of Iowa State, no matter how hideous their uniforms are.
The Irish fell to Louisville, the now no. 1 overall seed in the national tournament, in the semi-finals of their conference tournament after stringing together some impressive wins early in the tournament. Though the Irish weren’t a powerhouse squad all season, their ability to rebound and get second-chance opportunities could be a struggle for the vertically-challenged Buckeyes.
Okay, so let’s say the Buckeye’s beat the Irish, most would expect the next opponent to be the University of New Mexico. No, that wasn’t a joke.
The Lobos had an impressive season, sweeping the Mountain West Tournament and regular season title for the second straight year. Being the no. 3 seed in the West Region, the Buckeye’s would presumably have quite the challenge in the Sweet 16.
In a perfect world, the Buckeyes would then advance to the Elite 8, where they would have to face (barring any major upsets) no. 1 seed Gonzaga. The Bulldogs this year have been compared to the Notre Dame Football team, seeing as they have a great record and reputation, but are also plagued with doubts about if they can win the big game.
People across the country were stunned to see the University of Miami (FL) get shafted for the no. 1 seed, including myself. The Hurricanes won the ACC Tournament, and had an impressive record and performances all season long. But hey, I’m not complaining.
The senior leadership and composure the Hurricanes have give them an advantage over a team like Ohio State. They played big games, and beat good teams. The same can’t really be said for Gonzaga.
But, then again, this is basically a “What If?” analysis. This year’s college basketball season was as predictable as Northern Virginia weather. One day the sun shines for a team, the next they find themselves stuck in the cold. Nobody knows what’s going to happen in the tournament.
However, one thing is for sure. The Buckeyes are the hottest team in college hoops, and are going to ride out this momentum all the way through the tournament.