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ESPN’s Jay Bilas believes Ohio State has a shot to lock up a No. 1 seed for NCAA Tournament
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Few teams are playing as well as Ohio State right now. The Buckeyes have won four-straight games in the B1G and became the first team in the nation to register five wins over ranked opponents this season.
Chris Holtmann’s team is playing so well right now that ESPN analyst Jay Bilas believes Ohio State has a really good chance to earn a No. 1 seed for this year’s NCAA Tournament. That would be quite the storyline in the B1G this year, as the expected teams to be on the No. 1 seed line this year were primarily Iowa and Illinois.
“Chris Holtmann has an excellent offensive team,” Bilas said on ESPN’s College GameDay. “I think they can guard, too, but their offense is spectacular. They spread the floor, lift you up, and they have a great cutting and move the ball from side to side. EJ Liddell is a really difficult matchup because Holtmann can move him all over the floor. Justice Sueing, the transfer from Cal, is also having a great year. I put OSU on that No. 1 line.”
Ohio State has posted wins over No. 10 Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan State and No. 8 Iowa over the last two weeks. The Buckeyes are 15-4 overall with a 9-4 record in the B1G. They are only behind Michigan (8-1) and Illinois (8-3) in the conference standings.
There’s still a month left in the regular season and a lot of basketball remaining to be played. But if Ohio State continues to play as well as it has over the last few weeks, it’ll have a great shot at earning a No. 1 seed when March Madness rolls around.
The Buckeyes are back in action on Monday when they take on Maryland.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB