Chris Holtmann previews Ohio State’s NCAA Tournament matchup vs. Loyola Chicago

Ohio State is in the NCAA Tournament, squarely in the bracket as a 7-seed in the South Region. To open March Madness, the Buckeyes will get a matchup vs. 10-seed Loyola Chicago.

Ohio State heads into the tournament on a bit of a slide to finish the year, going 1-4 over its final 5 games. That included a disappointing loss to Penn State in the B1G Tournament.

A big key for the Buckeyes right now is getting healthy before Friday’s showdown. Forwards Zed Key and Kyle Young were both absent from the lineup in Indianapolis due to an ankle injury and concussion protocol, respectively.

In fact, head coach Chris Holtmann pointed to the game being on Friday as helpful for Ohio State to have an extra day to get healthy for the tournament. Whether or not that helps against a talented and dangerous Loyola Chicago squad remains to be seen.

Here’s what Holtmann had to say about opening the bracket with a showdown vs. the Ramblers:

Holtmann says the Buckeyes’ “mood is good” after learning their NCAA Tournament matchup.

— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) March 14, 2022

On playing on Friday instead of Thursday, Holtmann says “another day is certainly needed” for Ohio State to heal from injury issues.

— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) March 14, 2022

#Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann on Zed Key and Kyle Young: “I’ll make more statements on that once I have more information. Certainly if we were going to play in the First Four tomorrow night it wouldn’t look good for our group.”

— Adam Jardy (@AdamJardy) March 14, 2022

Holtmann: “Certainly we would’ve liked to finish the season better than we did. … This is a new season, the postseason.”

— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) March 14, 2022

Holtmann on Loyola: “I’ve not had a chance to look at their roster backwards and forwards, but I did watch their tournament win over Illinois (last year) and am familiar with some of their personnel.”

— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) March 14, 2022

Holtmann on making the NCAA Tournament: “It’s a benchmark for every program … there’s an appreciation for how hard it is.”

— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) March 14, 2022

You are not in this position if you did not have quality play and wins over season, you are not a No. 7 seed. – Chris Holtmann #Buckeyes

— Kevin Noon (@Kevin_Noon) March 14, 2022

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.