There’s a saying in sports that ,“It’s getting late early.” In college basketball, late January is the time when that phrase applies.
For the Ohio State Buckeyes, the time is now to start building an NCAA Tournament résumé. Right now on ESPN’s Bracketology, Ohio State is a No. 11 seed playing in the First Four against Texas.
But don’t just settle for being on the bubble. That’s not a place any team should want to be. That’s why a win Friday night at No. 3 Michigan would do the Buckeyes wonders.
Sure, Michigan is really good. They’ve only lost one game this season for a reason.
Nine players average between 7.6 and 14.2 points per game. Three players average between 6.9 and 7.2 rebounds. The Wolverines shoot nearly 52 percent from the floor, well over 35 percent from three-point range, and over 72 percent from the free-throw line.
Michigan’s top nine scorers all shoot over 40 percent from the floor, and they have five players shooting over 35 percent from three-point range. The Wolverines have a +9.6 rebounding margin and average 19.4 assists and 6.7 steals per game.
Yeah, the Wolverines are a really good team. They beat Gonzaga by 40 in November, and they’ve won three straight since losing to Wisconsin two weeks ago.
Ohio State has struggled to be a consistent mainstay in the NCAA Tournament since its last Final Four in 2012. They were a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament the following season and again in 2021. But the Buckeyes have also missed the Tournament five times since 2012, including in each of the last three seasons.
Jake Diebler is a good head coach. But now is the time to get the Buckeyes off the bubble and firmly into NCAA Tournament contention. He’s in his third season, and second full season, as the Buckeyes’ head coach. This is the time to prove he can take the next step and get the Buckeyes back into the NCAA Tournament.
This team is good enough to get there. Bruce Thornton can put the team on his back if he needs to. There are other talented players in John Mobley Jr., Devin Royal, and Christoph Tilly. This team has the scoring and the shooting to get into the NCAA Tournament. If games are close, they can win them with their 78.8 percent conversion rate from the free-throw line.
Opportunity is knocking on Friday night for the Buckeyes. The Big Ten will give them plenty of opportunities, but beating Michigan will do a lot for this Buckeyes team’s NCAA Tournament chances and morale. The bubble is not where this team should be.
Beating Michigan will get them off of it and firmly into NCAA Tournament contention.
