Throughout the year, we will be asking and answering questions about various Ohio State teams, the players, and anything else on our collective minds of varying degrees of importance. If you have a question that you would like to ask, you can tweet us @LandGrant33 or if you need more than 280 characters, send an email HERE.
Buckeye fans, it is officially tournament time, and for the first time since 2022, both the Ohio State men’s and women’s basketball teams will be a part of March Madness. While most people rightly consider Ohio State a football school, in my opinion, there is plenty of fandom to go around, and the energy around the Big Dance seems to be pretty palpable right now.
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So, this week’s fan survey is pretty straightforward. We want to know how far you think each OSU hoops team will go in their respective Big Dances.
If you want to expound on your pick, feel free to head down to the comments at the bottom of the page and write in your pick. Then, before the men kick off their tournament on Thursday, check back with LGHL to see the results. Also, if you want to flex your basketball knowledge muscles as the NCAA Basketball Tournaments approach, you should absolutely be doing it on the FanDuel Sportsbook, since they are sponsoring this article.
Question 1: How far will the Ohio State men go in the NCAA Tournament?
The No. 8 Ohio State men will open up the tournament proper on Thursday, March 19, with the first game of the day, tipping off at 12:15 p.m. ET on CBS against the No. 9 TCU Horned Frogs. In many ways, just making the tournament is a significant accomplishment for this team, especially since it was far from a guarantee just one month ago.
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Now, to be the higher seed in a first-round matchup feels like an opportunity for head coach Jake Diebler, all-time great Buckeye Bruce Thornton, and the rest of the squad to make a statement, not only about this season, but the future trajectory of the program as well. A win over TCU would generate untold levels of excitement and momentum heading into the 2026-27, but it would also give them a chance to, more than likely, take on a beaten and battered No. 1 overall seed Duke Blue Devils.
While OSU is just 5-11 in Quad-1 games this season, they also have four Quad-1 losses by two possessions or less, including just last week against No. 1 Michigan, falling 71-67 in the Big Ten Tournament. So while a second-round game against Duke is less than ideal, given their injury concerns and the way the Buckeyes have been playing, it is not out of the realm of possibilities for the Scarlet and Gray to pull off a monumental upset to make the Sweet 16.
So, what do you think? How far do you have the OSU men advancing in your bracket?
Question 2: How far will the Ohio State women go in the NCAA Tournament?
The expectations are slightly different for the Ohio State women, as they enter their Big Dance as not only a No. 3 seed, but as a host site for the first two rounds. The Buckeyes will take on No. 14 Howard in the first round on Saturday, March 21 at 11:30 a.m. ET, with a potential matchup with No. 6 Notre Dame on Monday (I would guess that game would be in the evening, given the fanbases of both schools).
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The OSU women are 9-7 in Quad-1 games this season, but are looking to get over a little bit of a postseason hump that has emerged in the last couple of seasons. This is the fourth-straight year that Kevin McGuff’s squad has hosted the NCAA Tournament’s first two rounds, meaning that it has consistently been a top-16 overall seed. However, in the previous three seasons, the team has only made the Sweet 16 once, back in 2023.
In 2024, the Buckeyes were a 2-seed, but lost to Duke 75-63, and in 2025, OSU was a 3, but fell to Tennessee 82-67. Admittedly, getting two blue-blood basketball programs in the second round is rough, but they have the chance to remedy that this season by beating the Irish and making it to the Sweet 16 at least.
You have an extra day to complete your women’s tournament bracket, but how far are you going to pencil the OSU women in?
