Entering this week's Big Ten men's basketball conference tournament in Indianapolis, the big question in the land of Ohio sports betting was this: Can the Buckeyes get back to the Big Dance in 2025?
Wednesday almost certainly gave us the answer.
At BetOhio.com, we explore the possibilities and assign odds for whether Ohio State will make its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2022.
Percentage Chance | Odds | |
Yes | 8.3% | +1100 |
No | 91.7% | -1100 |
These odds are offered solely at BetOhio.com, where we cover college sports and their pro counterparts as well as giving you the best Ohio sportsbook promo codes when you sign up with an operator.
Ohio State entered the Big Ten tournament as the league's No. 10 seed and a bubble team for a bid in the 68-team NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi, as of Sunday night's "Bracketology" update, had OSU as one of the last four teams in the NCAA field, facing a "First Four" game in Dayton next week. However, Jerry Palm of CBS listed Ohio State as the first team out.
The Buckeyes needed at least one victory and probably a couple in the Big Ten tournament to solidify its case for an at-large NCAA bid. Instead, OSU (17-15) lost to Iowa, the last team to qualify for the conference tournament, in a first-round game on Wednesday. That 77-70 defeat at the hands of the 15th-seeded Hawkeyes almost certainly doomed OSU as a contender for a spot in the field of 68 when brackets are announced this Sunday.
At BetMGM Ohio Sportsbook, top seed Michigan State is the favorite to win the league tournament at +300 odds going into Thursday's second round, followed by No. 2 seed Maryland at +350. The top four seeds won't have to play until Friday's quarterfinals.
According to stats.ncaa.org, through Wednesday's games, OSU is ranked No. 40 in the NCAA NET rankings and wound up 6-11 in Quad 1 games. Worse yet, Iowa is the lowest-ranked team that Ohio State lost to all season. The Hawkeyes (17-15) are No. 63 in the NET calculations. That's two bad losses in the space of a few weeks for the Buckeyes, who were trounced 70-49 by No. 54 Northwestern on Feb. 20.
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You mean for the NIT? The Buckeyes should be a shoo-in, if the team chooses to accept a bid.
Circling back to bracket experts, the Buckeyes are not really a factor for the NCAA Tournament after Wednesday's loss. Lunardi's updated projections on Thursday morning had OSU as one of the "First Four Out" while Palm did not even have the Buckeyes listed as a contender anymore. Obviously, without any more chances to improve their resume, the Buckeyes can only slide down those projection lists as upsets happen in other conference tournaments, shaking up the at-large selection process.
Our BetOhio.com board now gives OSU an 8.3% chance of making the field (+1100 odds), way down from the 62.3% implied probability from earlier this week.
At Caesars Ohio Sportsbook, Duke is the favorite to win the national title at +325 odds, followed by Auburn at +375.
USA Today photo by Joseph Maiorana
Author
Ohio native Jim Tomlin has 30 years of experience in journalism, mostly in sports. He lends his expertise to BetOhio.com as a writer and editor after previous experience at the Tampa Bay Times, FanRag, Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition.
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